India, Sept. 26 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington DC on Thursday with a simple aim: Things are going as well as they can for China, so don't stir up things and don't allow Donald Trump to do so. And so it has been: The outcome of the Xi-Trump summit is being assessed by the pageant and pomp displayed rather than measurable diplomatic outcomes. The trade truce between the two countries has been extended by two months, there is broad agreement on artificial intelligence (AI), and substantive talks on both issues have been kicked down the road. Taiwan and Iran have not played the spoilers they could have been.

For all their sound and colour, summits do not often yield practical results. But the reception given to Xi upon...