Donald Trump arrived in Beijing, and the scene was exactly as the media predicted: pomp, red carpets, slow photographers, and a salvo of phrases from two leaders who each have a very specific audience to address.

The summit - the first formal Trump-Xi meeting in the second term - touched on everything and on nothing: trade, economic cooperation, Iran, and finally Taiwan. In other words, every possible geopolitical theme was on the table, with no surprise outcome. The expectation is that this is the start, not the finale.

„Constructive strategic stability should be positive stability, marked above all by cooperation, benevolent stability with orderly competition, normal stability with manageable differences and lasting stability with predictable peace," said Xi Jinping. Even by Chinese diplomatic standards, that sentence is ambitious in its count of adjectives.

Trump was much shorter: „It's an honour to be with you. It's an honour to be your friend. The relationship between China and the US will be better than ever." That's „Trumpism" in its purest form - superlatives without specifics.

But specifics did show up in one move - China reopened export licences for US beef processors. Small on paper, but symbolic: this was one of the first casualties of the „trade war" in Trump's first term, and now it's being repackaged as a „gesture of goodwill". Midwest farmers, who elected Trump, will notice.

Taiwan remained the central unresolved issue. „Taiwan is the most important question in China-US relations," said Xi. „If handled correctly, bilateral relations can preserve their overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries could face conflicts and even clashes." That's a red line, said in front of the cameras, with no nuance.

For the Balkans - and for Europe as a whole - what matters isn't what was said, but the timing. Simultaneously with the summit, Russia carried out one of the largest missile attacks on Kyiv. Zelensky openly linked the action to the visit: Moscow doesn't want a successful Trump-Xi, because that could weaken Russia's weight as a „geopolitical factor". China plays both sides. The US is trying to split them.

At the end, the one question that closes every such summit: what could go wrong? Taiwan. An economic crisis. A tech decoupling. Anything could. Both leaders know it - but neither has any interest in saying so publicly.