Analysis: Xi Jinping smiles at Japanese visitors while grimacing at his economy

Katsuji Nakazawa is a Tokyo-based senior staff and editorial writer at Nikkei. He spent seven years in China as a correspondent and later as China bureau chief. He was the 2014 recipient of the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s administration has gone from wolf warrior diplomacy to smile diplomacy ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House and amid an inability to light a fire under the domestic economy.