World

China-US ties remain fragile despite Trump-Xi diplomacy

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping may meet each other more times in 2026 than in most previous years. However, the bilateral relationship remains very fragile. The pair met in China in May, in Washington in September and could meet at least twice more this year, in November and December. Yet, despite all the pomp and pageantry of their recent meetings, including Trump’s assertion that “tremendous strides” have been made and “we’ve never gotten along better,” compar