What China critics in Maga movement make of Trump's Beijing trip

What China critics in Maga movement make of Trump's Beijing trip10 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleBrandon Drenon & Bernd Debusmann JrBBC NewsGetty ImagesTrump's tone towards President Xi has softened considerably. When Donald Trump strode onto a stage at a campaign rally in Indiana in 2016, he made one thing clear: China was America's chief economic antagonist."We can't continue to allow China to rape our country," he told a crowd in Fort Wayne. "We have the cards. Don't forget it."The ferocious anti-China rhetoric didn't let up - through a decade of rallies, his 2024 campaign and into his second term.Trump arrived back at the White House alongside key allies who made China-bashing a calling card: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice-President JD Vance and senior economic counsellor Peter Navarro - all united in accusing Beijing of "ripping off" America, stealing technology at an industrial scale and flooding US streets with fentanyl.Tariffs soon followed, climbing from 10% in February 2025 to 145% by mid-April's "Liberation Day". China struck back, slapping the US with 125% tariffs and blocking rare earth exports. A trade war was underway.Then came this week's visit to Beijing. Trump stepped onto a red carpet at the Great Hall of the People to hundreds of flag-waving children and a military band belting out the Star-Spangled Banner."It's an honour to be with you," Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping. "It's an honour to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the US is going to be better than ever before."The man who once said China was raping America was now calling its leader his friend.Trump soon hailed "fantastic trade deals", although details and figures are few and far between. Chipmaker Nvidia was reportedly given a go-ahead to sell semiconductors to 10 Chinese companies and Boeing secured an order for 2...