Upbeat Xi says time on China's side as turmoil grips U.S.

The Chinese leader told a gathering of provincial and ministerial-level officials Monday that he saw “opportunities in general outweighing challenges,” a marked shift from his sometimes dire-sounding warnings of recent months. While he repeated an oft-used allusion to the challenges posed by President Donald Trump’s “America First” policies, he expressed new confidence that China would gain in the long run.

“The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, but time and the situation are in our favor,” Xi told the study session at Communist Party School, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. “This is where our determination and confidence are coming from.”