An Analysis of Trump’s Recent Visit to China
(Translated)
Al-Rayah Newspaper - Issue 603 - 10/06/2026
By: Ustadh Abu al-Mu'taz Billah al-Ashqar

America strives to prevent the formation of any alliance or coalition between Russia and China, and constantly attempts to dismantle the elements of rapprochement between them. Sometimes it courts Moscow, suggesting the possibility of abandoning its military support for Ukraine, or allowing it to build a military base here or there, to reinforce its status as a major power. At other times, it courts Beijing, issuing statements in support of a unified China, and preventing Taiwan from separating. America has a successful precedent in attempting to sever this relationship. In the early 1960s, specifically at the summit between Khrushchev and Kennedy in 1961, where the world was divided into two camps and spheres of influence, communist China was not absent from the talks between the two leaders.

Historically, American strategy is based on preventing the formation of a unified Eastern bloc that includes China and Russia. However, Russia and China have begun to see that the American empire is on the path to decline, and that domestic problems plague it, and the divisions among its people—especially between the Democratic and Republican parties—indicate that the world is about to turn away from the US. Despite remaining the world's leading power, the US is mired in its fatal mistakes, the latest being its war on Iran, which has made it a laughingstock in the eyes of the world. All of this threatens to diminish its status as the world's leading power, making cooperation or alliance essential and vital for both Beijing and Moscow.

The relationship between Russia and China is fundamentally based on competition, particularly in areas of shared influence such as Central Asia, which Russia considers its backyard while China views it as a vital route for its Belt and Road Initiative. The US believes that exploiting these historical contradictions and fears prevents the development of a comprehensive strategic military alliance between them. Therefore, the US constantly works to widen the gap between the two countries, recognizing that what currently unites them is their shared animosity toward it, not common interests or fundamental agreement. The US possesses numerous leverage points to exert pressure on both countries, some employing coercive tactics and others relying on incentives. These can be summarized in three main points:

Firstly: China’s keen interest in its substantial trade relations with the US. This explains its reluctance to provide military support to Russia in its war on Ukraine, fearing severe economic sanctions that would cripple its export-driven economy.

Secondly: the US is attempting to provoke China into a reckless military action against Taiwan, just as it lured Russia into the Ukrainian quagmire, to deplete its military and economic resources and isolate it internationally. This action would then serve as justification for imposing a comprehensive economic and trade embargo, crippling China's ambitions for regional dominance.

Thirdly: the US is exploiting regional anxieties about the Chinese threat to rebuild and strengthen its military alliances in the region, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) alliance with Britain and Australia, and the Quad alliance with Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. This diverts China's attention and prevents it from focusing on economic matters. It remains to be seen how long China can endure this situation.

Despite these leverage points, the US no longer possesses effective and decisive means of exerting pressure on either Russia or China. China's economic situation is precarious. The US raises tariffs and then quickly backs them down, recognizing the impact on its domestic economy, particularly as it is a consumer-driven nation where tariff increases directly affect its people.

As for Russia, the US hoped that entangling it in the Ukrainian quagmire and imposing economic sanctions would isolate it internationally and cripple its gas trade. However, this strategy has not yielded the desired results. Russia is expanding its presence in Ukraine, and Europe is actively seeking its assistance, both openly and covertly, as it is the biggest loser in this conflict. This damage has been exacerbated by the US war on Iran and the restrictions imposed on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Although nothing emerged from Trump’s visit to China regarding a potential severing of ties between China and Russia, Putin’s subsequent visit to China, which followed Trump's and resulted in the signing of 20 joint agreements covering energy, technology, and transportation sectors, clearly aims to strengthen relations between the two countries. This visit and these agreements speak volumes, indicating that America is in decline and will suffer the same fate as all nations and empires before it; natural law (sunnah) of Allah (swt) is immutable. The Islamic Ummah, with its values and Shariah rulings derived from its belief, is, by the Permission of Allah (swt), the fundamental alternative, ready to return and carry Islam as a beacon of light and a system of life. The conflict between Russia and China on one side, and America on the other, is not a conflict of ideologies but rather a conflict of interests. The Khilafah (Caliphate), as an ideological political order, is the only entity capable of managing and resolving this conflict. The history of the jizya (tribute) being paid to Muslims, and the signing of the agreement in the Arabic language, which America was forced to do, is not far removed from our minds. Allah (swt) said,

[وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِي الزَّبُورِ مِن بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ أَنَّ الْأَرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِيَ الصَّالِحُونَ]

“And We have already written in the Zabur (of Daud (as)), after the Reminder, that the earth will be inherited by My righteous servants” [TMQ Surah Al-Anbiyyaa’: 105].