Trump’s diplomatic week yields limited breakthroughs

President Donald Trump’s week of high-profile diplomacy produced a reported two-month extension of a U.S.-China trade truce, while efforts to gain movement on other major disputes showed limited progress. The meetings and speeches highlighted both the administration’s efforts to project U.S. influence and the resistance it encountered from other governments. Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday and met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday. The most tangible reported result of the summit was an extension of the trade truce between the two largest economies, which had been due to expire in November. The reports did not specify the revised end date or the agreement’s terms. Chinese state media reported that Xi privately urged Trump to oppose Taiwan independence. The meeting was closed to public view, and the reported appeal has not been independently established. Taiwan, which Beijing claims, remains a major point of tension between Washington and Beijing. The leaders also faced differences over trade, artificial intelligence and Iran, but the accounts described few public details of their discussions.