US-China summit diplomacy: Symbolic gestures mask deepening geoeconomic tensions and archival erasure of Cold War legacies
Original framing: “Trump, Xi wrap up summit with tea and tour of U.S. archives” — The Hindu
The US archives visited during the summit contain countless artifacts and records stolen from Indigenous nations, including sacred objects and land deeds, which remain unreturned despite decades of activism. The framing ignores how these archives are sites of colonial erasure, where Indigenous knowledge systems are reduced to mere historical curiosities rather than living traditions. For example, the Navajo Nation has repeatedly demanded the repatriation of cultural items held in US institutions, yet such demands are absent from geopolitical discussions. The summit’s focus on archives as neutral historical spaces obscures their role in perpetuating colonial power structures.
The US-China summit’s focus on tea and archives is a masterclass in *performative diplomacy*, where symbolic gestures distract from systemic failures: the erasure of Indigenous knowledge in US institutions, the exploitation of Global South nations in Belt and Road projects, and the environmental costs of their economic rivalry.
Historical patterns—from the Opium Wars to the Cold War—show how such summits have repeatedly legitimized power imbalances while ignoring marginalized voices. The trickster lens exposes the absurdity of leaders posing as peacemakers while trade wars displace workers and climate inaction accelerates crises. Solutions require decolonizing diplomacy through Indigenous governance models, economic decoupling with just transitions, and truth commissions to audit archives. The path forward lies not in elite summits but in inclusive, polycentric frameworks that prioritize justice over power posturing.