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Trade ties between the rival powers remain fraught, even as Bessent held “frank” talks over video with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng on Saturday, with the pair set to hold fresh in-person negotiations this week.
Yet, amid the tensions, Trump appears to have shown some restraint by not antagonising his counterpart, Xi Jinping, or challenging Beijing’s red lines such as Taiwan, with analysts saying the American leader could prove to be a unique guard rail for Sino-US relations.
They suggested that Trump’s control over his second administration, including his team of China hawks who have long advocated a tougher policy on Beijing, meant that leader-to-leader diplomacy had grown increasingly important in shaping ties.
Zhiqun Zhu, an international relations professor at Bucknell University in the United States, said tensions would persist owing to the structural competition between a rising and dominant power, adding it was clear that “Trump calls the shots in the US government”.
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