The bigger picture is clear. Xi’s message to Trump was not one of friendship, but of calculation. By saying “not while you’re president,” Xi was effectively signaling that China would simply wait him out. Combined with Beijing’s simultaneous efforts to weaken Trump’s presidency from trade pressure to cyber operations, the statement reads less like a promise and more like a taunt.

Xi was telling Trump: “Your presidency is temporary. My rule is not. I will outlast you.”

And as Taiwan knows too well, patience from Beijing has never meant peace, only preparation.