He has a well-earned reputation for pugnacity, but Donald Trump also has a habit of lavishing praise on those he considers worthy of it.

Take new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who on Wednesday described as a “winner”, with a “very strong handshake”.

British PM Sir Keir Starmer is “so strong and so respected” and has “beautiful accent” as well as a “perfect wife”.

Our own Anthony Albanese is a “great leader” who has done “a fantastic job” on the multi-billion-dollar critical minerals deal.

So it wasn’t that unusual that the superlatives were freeflowing as the US President met with his Chinese counterpart at APEC in South Korea.

Mr Trump described Xi Jinping as both “a friend of mine” and “the very, very distinguished and respected president of China”.

Then the highest words

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