Xi's reference to America as a "declining nation" was a direct slap in the face to Trump - and in his finest form, he managed to twist the statement like a pretzel, with his normal level of astounding BS, about America's economic performance, under his leadership.
He claimed Xi was referring to America led by Biden - and stated, that under his Presidency, America was booming, claimed he was responsible for the booming share market, a massive investment in American manufacturing, pension funds making good profits, and a dozen other BS claims, such as a "thriving relationship with Venezuela", "military victories", and a "booming jobs market".
His claims are such contorted BS, it's hard to know where to start.
1. The state of the share market has little relevance to any of his decision-making. Share prices go up and down like a yo-yo, and if anything is driving shares higher, it's the amount of money in circulation that America has printed with no asset backing - the so-called "quantitive easing".
2. The "massive investment in American manufacturing", has only come about due to Trumps threats to virtually cease trading with any country that doesn't invest in America. Those decisions are economic decisions by the companies, and can be reversed at a moments notice. There are plenty of "stalled" American manufacturing projects, put on hold due to political and market uncertainty.
3. The pension funds are always looking for good returns and have trillions to invest, and Presidential decisions have little bearing on where or what the pension funds put their money into. Interestingly, a lot of American pension funds have substantial monetary and corporate investments in Australia.
4. His "thriving relationship with Venezuela" is only in his mind, and in his dreams. I seem to recall the last time we had any serious news from on the ground in Venezuela, the locals were waving firearms around, ready to repel any American military force landings.
5. The "military victories" he claims are total fiction. You have a successful military victory when you have gained territory/territories, had opponents sign surrender agreements, or have gained major concessions that amount to a serious loss for the "enemy combatants".
No such thing has occurred, and Trump and his buddies are still hip-deep in the Iranian swamp, with the crocodiles ready to bite them on the arse.
6. The "booming jobs market" in the U.S. is a total fabrication. The labour market in the U.S. has flatlined, and is showing signs of heading towards stagflation or recession.
The final straws are -
A. Trump promised to immediately end the Ukraine War - in 1 day - once re-elected. Nothing has happened as regards the Ukraine War, the Ukrainians fight on steadily.
B. Trump promised to "bring down the price of groceries and all consumer items, including fuel" - on "day one" again, of course. The exact opposite has happened, virtually all grocery and living costs in the U.S. have risen under Trumps Presidency.
Fuel prices have soared up to 40% above the pricing from Bidens era, aviation fuel costs have soared 70%, resulting in increased air fare costs, beef prices have soared, and inflation is rearing its ugly head again, as increased transport and shipping costs are starting to bite. Trump is the master of perpetual BS, lies and broken promises - a fact not lost on Xi.