Trump backed down when Xi stood up to him. He characterizes Xi Jinping as effectively saying he will do whatever he wants with Taiwan and the US can do nothing about it, and Trump saying nothing in reply; the piece frames this as the schoolyard bully getting stood up to and folding.
The reversal contradicts years of Republican China messaging. He argues Trump and the Republican Party made China the villain for years, yet after what he describes as a one-hour meeting with Xi, Trump came home willing to give China farmland and more — in his words, "suddenly he's half Chinese."