Just two months ago, President Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, strolled together through a garden of the secretive leadership compound in the heart of Beijing, past rows of bright flowers and leafy plants.

就在两个月前，特朗普总统还与中国国家主席习近平并肩漫步于北京市中心那座戒备森严的领导人驻地花园，穿行在一排排鲜花和草木间。

The U.S. president toasted Mr. Xi as “my friend” at a state banquet during his visit. He declared that he had received a “magnificent welcome like none other” that had helped smooth the way to “fantastic trade deals.”

访问期间，美国总统在国宴上举杯，称习近平为“我的朋友”。他宣称受到了“前所未有的盛情款待”，这为促成“极为出色的贸易协议”铺平了道路。

The stage was set, Mr. Trump said, for Mr. Xi to make a reciprocal state visit to Washington in late September.

特朗普表示，中国领导人将于9月底对美国进行国事访问，相关安排已经就绪。

But in a prime-time speech on Thursday night, Mr. Trump struck an overtly hostile note, accusing China of carrying out “the largest compromise of election data in history.”

然而，在周四晚间的黄金时段演讲中，特朗普总统却摆出了一种公开的敌对姿态，指责中国实施了“史上最大规模的选举数据入侵”。

Mr. Trump said he was releasing declassified documents that showed China had interfered in the election, though the actual material failed to reveal any new or potent information about Beijing’s efforts.

特朗普表示，他将公布一批解密文件，以证明中国干预了美国大选。然而，实际材料并未披露任何有关中国行动的新信息或有力证据。

And U.S. intelligence assessments said there was no evidence China did anything to affect the outcome of the 2020 vote.

美国情报机构的评估也指出，没有证据表明中国曾采取任何行动来影响2020年大选的结果。

The question now is not whether there was anything substantial behind Mr. Trump’s accusations, but whether his remarks threw off the relationship he had been trying to establish with Mr. Xi.

现在的问题并非特朗普的指控背后是否真有实质性内容，而是他的这番言论是否破坏了此前他一直试图与习近平建立的关系。

Probably not, analysts say, given Mr. Trump’s persistent, gushing admiration of Mr. Xi over the years, his embattled foreign policy in other areas — namely, the Iran war — and the commercial leverage that China has over the United States.

分析人士认为，可能并不会导致这样的结果。这是因为，特朗普多年来对习近平始终大加赞赏；其次，他在其他领域（尤其是伊朗战争）的外交政策方面已经自顾不暇；以及中国拥有巨大的对美商业筹码。

Still, Mr. Trump’s speech showed how quickly he can put aside diplomatic goals to try to gain short-term advantage in domestic matters, even when it involves the world’s other superpower.

尽管如此，特朗普的讲话表明，为了在国内政治中获得短期利益，即使涉及世界另一个超级大国，他也会迅速将外交目标搁置一旁。

His casting of China as a villain in U.S. elections came as he was desperately trying to get an election regulation bill passed in Congress. He also evoked the boogeyman of China in his 2016 presidential campaign and again in 2020, when the pandemic hobbled his re-election chances.

他将中国塑造成美国选举中的反派角色之际，正值他急于推动国会放行一项选举监管法案。在2016年总统竞选期间，以及2020年新冠疫情削弱其连任前景时，他都曾搬出中国威胁论。

The Chinese government appears to be taking Mr. Trump’s comments in stride. There was little coverage of his remarks in state news outlets, and a foreign ministry spokesman, Lin Jian, shared boilerplate comments when asked about the accusations.

中国政府似乎对特朗普的言论不以为意。官方媒体对其讲话的报道寥寥无几，外交部发言人林剑在被问及这些指控时，仅给出了例行公事般的表态。

“This is a false allegation and serious smear that has long been proven to be unfounded,” he said on Friday. “We urge the U.S. to reflect on its behavior, stop vilifying China and framing China for election purposes, and act in ways conducive to China-U.S. relations.”

“美方有关说法纯属无中生有、恶意抹黑，早已被证明是无稽之谈，”他在周五表示。“我们敦促美方反躬自省，停止无端抹黑中国，不要在选举中拿中国说事，多做有利于中美关系的事。”

That last line indicated that Chinese officials think Mr. Trump’s accusations were oriented toward domestic politics, and were not a harbinger of a policy shift.

最后这句话表明，中国官员认为特朗普的指控主要是针对国内政治的需要，而非政策转变的先兆。

Mr. Xi, rather than acknowledging Mr. Trump’s remarks, spent Friday at a forum in Shanghai laying out China’s vision for global cooperation and governance on artificial intelligence.

习近平并未就特朗普的言论作出回应，而是于周五现身上海的一个论坛，阐述中国在全球人工智能合作与治理方面的愿景。

“Based on China’s low-level and rote response, I am confident they understand Trump’s comments are almost entirely about domestic U.S. politics,” said Ryan Hass, a former career diplomat and White House national security official who directs a China center at the Brookings Institution. “Count me skeptical that Trump’s speech will have lasting impact on the relationship, unless he goes well beyond where he left things last night.”

美国布鲁金斯学会中国中心主任、前职业外交官及白宫国家安全官员何瑞恩(Ryan Hass)表示：“从中国低级别、程式化的回应来看，我相信他们明白，特朗普的言论几乎完全是为了美国国内政治。除非特朗普接下来采取实质性的进一步行动，否则我对这次演讲会对两国关系产生持久影响持怀疑态度。”

John Culver, a retired intelligence officer specializing in China, years ago examined the material presented by Mr. Trump on Thursday night. Mr. Culver said that “as with the disputed U.S. 2020 elections, Xi likely understands that Trump’s renewed claims — with no new evidence — reflect Trump’s low approval ratings and the prospect of deep Republican Party losses in the midterm elections.”

曾长期负责中国事务的美国退休情报官员约翰·卡尔弗表示，他多年前就研究过特朗普周四晚公布的那些材料。卡尔弗说：“正如围绕2020年美国大选的争议一样，习近平很可能明白，特朗普如今再次提出这些并没有新证据支持的指控，反映的是特朗普支持率低迷，以及共和党可能在中期选举中遭遇重大失利的前景。”

Asked for comment, the White House said only that plans for Mr. Xi to visit Washington in September were proceeding.

白宫在被要求置评时，仅表示习近平9月访问华盛顿的计划正在按部就班地推进。

Discussion of the major issues around the summit is expected to take place next week when Secretary of State Marco Rubio travels to Manila, the capital of the Philippines. He has plans to meet with Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, on the sidelines of an annual conference of Southeast Asian nations.

预计双方将在下周讨论峰会的主要议题。届时，美国国务卿鲁比奥将前往菲律宾首都马尼拉，并计划在东南亚国家年度会议期间与中国外长王毅举行会晤。

After meeting with Mr. Wang in Malaysia a year ago, Mr. Rubio said the two nations were seeking “strategic stability.” Chinese officials at the Beijing summit then got Mr. Trump to agree to a framework of “constructive strategic stability.”

一年前在马来西亚与王毅会面后，鲁比奥曾表示，两国正在寻求“战略稳定”。中国官员随后在北京峰会期间促成了特朗普同意“建设性战略稳定”作为双边关系的框架。

At the forum in Shanghai, Mr. Xi said that China as a superpower would ensure developing nations had proper access to advances in A.I., and that together they would share the technology to avoid “new historical injustices.”

在上海举行的论坛上，习近平表示，中国作为一个超级大国，中国将确保发展中国家能够公平获得人工智能发展的成果，并与各国共享相关技术，以避免出现“新的历史不公”。

“The juxtaposition of Trump’s and Xi’s speeches makes for a truly alarming split screen — China planning forward and presenting a collaborative front, America looking backward and appearing highly conspiratorial and polarized,” said Julian Gewirtz, a China historian who worked at the White House National Security Council and the State Department in the Biden administration.

曾在拜登政府白宫国家安全委员会和国务院任职的中国史学者朱利安·格维兹表示：“把特朗普和习近平的演讲放在一起，形成了鲜明而令人警觉的对比——中国着眼未来，并呈现出合作姿态；而美国却在回顾过去，呈现出高度阴谋论色彩和严重政治极化的景象。”

Mr. Gewirtz added that Mr. Xi’s words about injustices, while vague, carried “a profoundly appealing message to many countries around the world that fear the Trump administration will capriciously cut off their access to American A.I. systems.”

格维兹还表示，习近平关于“历史不公”的表述虽然较为含糊，但“向世界上许多担心特朗普政府会随意切断它们获取美国人工智能系统渠道的国家传递了一个极具吸引力的信息”。

That has been the pattern throughout the second Trump administration when it comes to the United States and China: Mr. Xi, the world’s most powerful autocrat, voicing global goals, while Mr. Trump talks about his obsessions and grievances.

这已成为特朗普第二任期内美中关系的基本模式：作为世界上最有权势的威权领导人，习近平在阐述全球性目标；而特朗普则沉浸于他的执念与积怨之中。

Mr. Xi has picked up on that, and has deployed flattery at times to try to ensure that at least personal relations with Mr. Trump remain stable. At the state banquet in Beijing on May 14, over courses of crispy beef ribs, roasted Peking duck and tiramisu, Mr. Xi said in a toast that “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand.”

习近平显然也注意到了这一点，并不时通过赞扬特朗普试图确保至少两人的私人关系保持稳定。5月14日在北京举行的国宴上，习近平在祝酒辞中表示：“实现中华民族伟大复兴和让美国再次伟大，完全可以并行不悖。”那场国宴的菜品包括香酥牛肋排、北京烤鸭和提拉米苏等。

国务卿鲁比奥将前往马尼拉参加国际会议，预计届时美中两国将讨论双方元首峰会的主要议题。

Instead of rejecting Mr. Trump’s signature phrase and movement — one that blames China for the downfall of U.S. manufacturing — Mr. Xi has appropriated it for his diplomatic aims.

习近平没有否定特朗普“让美国再次伟大”这一标志性口号及其政治运动——尽管该运动将美国制造业的衰落归咎于中国——反而巧妙地将其纳入自己的外交目标。

Mr. Xi has reason to be confident. Last year, when Mr. Trump tried to escalate his trade war with China, Mr. Xi retaliated by moving to cut the United States off from supplies of processed rare earth minerals, over which China has a monopoly. Mr. Trump backed down, and has since tried to improve relations.

中国领导人有理由保持自信。去年，当特朗普试图升级对华贸易战时，中国领导人通过切断美国对中国垄断的加工稀土矿物的供应进行报复。特朗普最终退让，此后一直试图改善两国关系。

On Friday, the Chinese government said it welcomed the expiration of an order issued by Mr. Trump in 2020 that stripped Hong Kong of its special trade status with the United States. Mr. Trump issued the order after China imposed a harsh national security law on Hong Kong and quashed peaceful protests, moves that angered some of his aides.

周五，中国政府表示，欢迎特朗普于2020年签署、取消香港对美特殊贸易地位的行政命令到期不再延续。当年，中国在香港实施严厉的国家安全法并镇压和平抗议活动，此举激怒了特朗普的一些幕僚，他随即签署了这项命令。

But Mr. Trump rarely talks about human rights or democracy, and his efforts to hold a series of meetings with Mr. Xi this year are his priority now. Mr. Trump has always been excited by diplomatic pageantry with world leaders.

然而，特朗普鲜少谈及人权或民主，他今年与习近平举行一系列会晤的计划才是他眼下的首要事项。特朗普向来热衷于与世界各国领导人举行具有仪式感的外交活动。

To ensure the meetings go smoothly, Mr. Trump has decided to halt final approval of a package of weapons to Taiwan valued at $14 billion, despite the fact the Congress has endorsed the sales.

为了确保会晤顺利进行，特朗普已决定暂缓批准一项对台武器销售计划，该计划总值达140亿美元，尽管国会已批准此项军售。

Yet Chinese officials do not assume that any fundamental change to the relationship is taking place, no matter what remarks the U.S. president makes, said Yun Sun, a scholar at the Stimson Center in Washington. They still view the United States and China as engaged in a long-term competition, with the 20th-century superpower in decline and the Asian nation taking its place.

不过，华盛顿史汀生中心的学者孙韵表示，无论特朗普总统发表什么言论，中国官员都不会认为两国关系正在发生根本性变化。他们依然认为，美中正处于一场长期竞争之中——作为20世纪超级大国的美国正在走向衰落，而这个亚洲国家正取而代之。