Listening to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the recently concluded Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, I thought of the iconic Sichuan opera act of face-changing, where performers switch masks in an instant. Last year, Hegseth’s speech at the event was filled with blatant attacks on China. This year, he put on a completely different face, declaring that: “Under President Trump’s leadership, relations between the United States and China are better than they’ve been in many years.” Why this...
Congressional reaction to US President Donald Trump’s visit to China highlighted how sharply Washington’s political consensus on Beijing has shifted in recent years, with lawmakers from both parties warning against any perceived softening of US support for Taiwan or broader strategic competition with China. While Democrats criticised Trump for appearing too accommodating towards Beijing, many Republicans also stressed that economic engagement with China should not come at the expense of...
Fresh from his summit in Beijing, the US president warned against a formal declaration of independence by the island.
We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. The Xi-Trump summit is over. What comes next in the US-China rivalry? Xi described Trump’s visit as “historical” and “a landmark”, adding that “important consensus was made on issues both sides are interested in”, according to the Chinese summary. Read the full story here. 2. US Senate warns...
Donald Trump does not commit to arms sale during China visit.
This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Unrivalled Xi-Trump summit analysis: get real-time updates and exclusive boots-on-the-ground reporting from our Beijing and Washington bureaus. Subscribe now with great savings to stay ahead. On Friday, the final day of his Beijing trip, US President Donald Trump will again meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, this time over tea and a working lunch. The two leaders are expected to...
Trump praises China as he ignores question about Taiwan
China welcomed US President Donald Trump with cheering children and a troop parade on Thursday, before a nearly two-hour long meeting with Xi-Jinping.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington hopes to convince Beijing to play a “more active role” in resolving the Iran crisis, a clear sign the issue will come into sharp focus when President Donald Trump holds his closely watched summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Speaking to Fox News aboard Air Force One, Rubio said the Iran war was a “huge source of instability” and “threatens to destabilise Asia more than any other part of the world because it’s heavily reliant on the straits for...
Trump and Xi's summit comes at a crucial moment for the global economy, as the war on Iran continues to disrupt trade.
The United States announced on Tuesday that it would send a delegation to the second Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) 2026 Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM2) and related meetings in China this month, just hours after US President Donald Trump departed for Beijing ahead of a high-stakes summit with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The US delegation will head to Shanghai and Suzhou from May 11 to 24 to “continue advancing ‘America first’ foreign, trade, and investment policies,” according to...
US President Donald Trump’s landmark visit to China comes as the Iran war disrupts global energy supplies, fuels economic uncertainty and adds fresh strain to Washington-Beijing ties. In the latest part of a series examining how rivalry, interdependence and geopolitical crises are reshaping the relationship between the two powers, we look at how Trump’s weakened hand could tilt summit talks. When next week’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping was first...