An analysis of the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing argues that beyond surface-level optics, the meeting represented a substantive shift in how the US and China manage their strategic rivalry, particularly regarding Taiwan.

South China Morning Post

The international media consensus following the Beijing summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump was predictable: grand on optics, short on substance. Dismissing it on those grounds misses the deeper story of how the summit marked a turning point in how Washington and Beijing manage their rivalry, particularly over Taiwan.
To understand where this relationship is going, a brief historical detour is in order. In April 2001, then US president George W. Bush...