New Delhi, Sept. 21 -- This summer, citing similarly grave concerns, he took the rare step of delivering a primetime address to the nation, accusing China of "sinister election meddling" in 2020 and reviving his yearslong push to dispute his loss in that year's election.

Even as Trump seeks to decry Democrats as communists ahead of November's midterm elections, he is rolling out the red carpet this week for Chinese President Xi Jinping, the leader of the world's most powerful communist country.

The state visit comes as the president himself has increasingly directed his administration to take large stakes in private companies to try to stimulate the economy - something even some Republicans decry as corporate socialism.

The contradicti...