But Michael Pillsbury, a China expert at the conservative Hudson Institute who informally advises the White House on economic issues, said Trump had chosen not to “rise to the bait.”

Pillsbury recounted that the president told him in a late-afternoon phone call that Trump anticipates those talks continuing past the November 2020 election. Pillsbury serves as an occasional outside adviser to the president.

Michael Pillsbury, a China analyst at the conservative Hudson Institute who has informally advised Trump on trade, said the president’s tweet was consistent with his broader strategy to stand up to Beijing on strategic issues while maintaining a decent personal relationship with Xi.

“This is a response to the Chinese goodwill gesture,” said Michael Pillsbury of the Hudson Institute, who has advised the administration on China. “This is goodwill gesture for goodwill gesture.”

“President Trump is our desk officer on China,” says Michael Pillsbury, an informal White House adviser on Asia policy. Strange as it sounds, that’s probably accurate.

Michael Pillsbury of the Hudson Institute, who advises the president on China strategy, said administration officials in recent weeks had detected a shift in Chinese thinking.