In a season of global uncertainty, China's Xi Jinping has embarked on an unusual burst of diplomatic travel, positioning his nation as a steady hand in a world unsettled by the unpredictability of American leadership under Donald Trump. The choreography is deliberate — courting allies and fence-sitters alike before sitting down with Trump himself at a state dinner, a moment that will carry the weight of two civilizations negotiating their place in a shifting order. History reminds us that such gestures of stability are themselves a form of contest, and the world watches to see which vision of