During his 2005 presidential visit to China, George W. Bush, an enthusiastic mountain biker, cycled with members of the country’s national team.
When China’s current leader, Xi Jinping, toured the United States in 2015, he received a football jersey from high schoolers in Tacoma, Wash., and promised to encourage more tourism between the countries.
There seem to be few such displays of bilateral bonhomie in store for this week’s summit between Mr. Xi and President Trump in Beijing.
That reflects a grim reality of U.S.-China relations: As geopolitical and economic tensions have grown, softer ties — which previously had persisted despite other disputes — have weakened, too. Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi are expected to discuss contentious issues such as trade, Taiwan and the war in Iran.
For decades, displays of fellowship between the countries’ leaders and ordinary people were staples of high-level, bilateral meetings. Though highly choreographed, they reflected genuine ties. Hundreds of thousands of students traveled between the United States and China each year. American athletes and musicians toured China to rapturous crowds. Chinese and American scientists worked closely together to fuel breakthroughs in clean energy, particle physics and cancer research.
