First published: Engelsberg Ideas, 12 May 2026
When President Trump goes to Beijing later this week to meet with Xi Jinping, there will be fanfare, red carpets, much hand-shaking and photo opportunities, signed memoranda, and, very likely, some ‘deals’ on trade. The general view that any benefits from the meeting will be modest is well founded. While there have been alternating periods of stability and heightened tension in the Sino-US relationship, there is no expectation that the major structural issues that lie at the heart of this fundamentally adversarial entanglement will be resolved. Yet, dialogue and detente are not to be sneezed at nowadays, and it probably suits both Trump and Xi to take some time out to stabilise their relationship and attend to pressing domestic economic concerns. Read on…..https://engelsbergideas.com/notebook/trumps-cards-to-play-in-china/
