New Delhi, May 18 -- visible leverage.

The red carpets were rolled out with mathematical precision. Military bands performed beneath gray skies. Chinese officials escorted the American delegation through cavernous halls lined with flags and polished marble. Cameras followed every handshake between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, framing the summit as a meeting between two giants still capable of shaping the global order.

But beneath the ceremonial grandeur, the balance inside the room appeared unmistakably different.

Xi entered the summit projecting the confidence of a leader who believes history is moving in his direction. Trump arrived carrying the burdens of inflation fears, widening geopolitical crises, domestic political p...