Donald Trump and Xi Jinping took a break from the exhausting and sometimes bothersome business of micromanaging every detail and particular of the societies over which they preside to exchange ideas on Friday.

The first call between the two men since June took place at a delicate juncture for US-China bilateral relations and… well, and yadda yadda. Right? Blah, blah, blah. Look: If you can’t write this boilerplate copy then you’re not much of a news junkie. (That’s not necessarily a criticism, by the way. The 24-7 news cycle’s destroying our minds.)

On most interpretations, tensions between the world’s two superpowers are running very high. Tit-for-tat escalations in the ongoing battle for tech supremacy (and he who reigns tech supreme holds the key to 21st century hegemony more broadly) are a near daily occurrence, and Washington’s at odds with Beijing over Xi’s support for the Russian war machine.

That latter point needs an asterisk. Unlike Joe Biden, Trump doesn’t so much care about the myriad normative issues raised by Vladimir Putin’s attempted conquest of Ukraine. For Trump, it’s not about right and wrong, it’s about ending a conflict which is a pain in his ass, and securing for himself peacemaker bragging rights.

Putin’s flagrant flouting of this White House’s efforts to mediate a resolution to the conflict are by now impossible for Trump to ignore and obscure, which is to say he’s embarrassed by The Kremlin’s recalcitrance. At the same time, Putin and Xi are playing on Trump’s insecurities vis-à-vis his autocrat bona fides with public displays of authoritarian grandeur attended by the likes of Kim Jong-un and Alexander Lukashenko — as if to say, “Donald, this is how it’s done.”

All of that — the tech war, Ukraine and Beijing’s adroit manipulation of Trump’s autocrat envy, an effort Narendra Modi joined this month as a show of defiance against US tariffs — was the subtext for Friday’s phone call which was ostensibly convened primarily to discuss trade and TikTok.

Xinhua described the call as “pragmatic, positive and constructive” which is probably accurate on some fronts and interpretations. Trump’s very keen to endear himself to the world’s strongmen, Xi especially. Not necessarily in a servile way. Trump does want to tout and assert American supremacy, but he desperately wants to be accepted as an authoritarian by other authoritarians. They — the other authoritarians — know that, and they see it as an exploitable weak spot.

They also know just what Trump wants to hear, mostly because he says it — what he wants to hear — in public. Earlier this month, for example, when China held a military parade to commemorate the end of World War II, an irritable Trump took to social media to suggest China should thank the US for its support in the war. Sure enough, Xi did just that on Friday. To wit, from the Xinhua readout:

Xi pointed out that China and the United States were allies who fought side by side during World War II. The Chinese people will never forget the invaluable support provided by the United States and other anti-fascist allies to China’s war of resistance. We should cherish peace and forge ahead into the future, based on commemorating the martyrs and remembering history.

I suppose this is obvious, but just in case: That’s not obsequiousness on China’s part. It’s manipulation, so too the mention of “remembering history.” And if you think it’s a coincidence that Xi emphasized the importance of “commemorating martyrs” at a time when the American right is mourning one of its icons, I’ve got news for you: It’s not a coincidence. It’s more manipulation.

In fact, the entire Xinhua readout suggests the call was just a very long manipulation session perpetrated by Xi against Trump who at one point, according to Xinhua anyway, congratulated Xi on this month’s military parade in Beijing calling the festivities “magnificent.” That’d be the same parade that Trump sneered at on TruthSocial, where he accused Xi, Putin and Kim of conspiring against America (which they absolutely were and are).

“The US-China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world,” Xi told Trump. “Cooperation between the two countries can accomplish many significant things that contribute to world peace and stability.”

As far as trade, it was the same old line from Beijing. “Both sides must meet each other halfway and make efforts to achieve mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation,” Xi said, on the way to suggesting the US “should refrain from taking unilateral trade restrictive measures to prevent undermining the achievements made through multiple rounds of consultations.”

Xi described China’s position on TikTok as “clear.” The Party, he said, “respects the wishes of businesses and welcomes them to conduct commercial negotiations based on market rules and reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and balance interests.” It’s Xi’s “hope” that the US provides for “an open, fair, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies to invest.”

And that’s pretty much it. Trump weighed in later with his own account of the call, which he likewise described as “productive.” A lot of progress was made on “many very important issues,” Trump said, adding that he’ll meet Xi at the APEC Summit in South Korea in November, and will “go to China in the early part of next year.” Xi, Trump went on, will visit the US “at an appropriate time.”