Donald Trump came away from his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping full of bombastic optimism.
He called it a great success and rated it 12 on a scale of 1 to 10. China was less enthusiastic. Beijing's initial statement sounds like an instruction manual, with Xi urging teams on both sides to follow up as soon as possible.
Trump aims for a deal that could happen pretty soon, while Beijing appears to be playing the long game.
Among other things, the US would lower tariffs on Chinese imports, and China would suspend controls on the export of rare earths, critical minerals vital for manufacturing smartphones, electric cars, and military equipment.
There is no deal yet, and negotiators on both sides have already been talking for months to iron out the details. But Thursday's agreement is still a breakthrough.
It steadies what has become a rocky relationship between the world's two biggest economies and assures global markets.
However, it is only a temporary truce and does not resolve the fundamental differences at the heart of their competitive relationship.
Kelly Ann Shaw, a former economic advisor to President Trump, states, The US and China are going in different directions. It’s really about managing the breakup in a way that does limited damage that preserves US interests, and I think from China's perspective, preserves their own interests. But this is not a relationship that is necessarily going to improve dramatically anytime soon.
[...]
Even if Trump concludes a deal, it’s clear that China is not eager to concede to US pressure, demonstrating fortitude in an evolving geopolitical landscape.
