NEW GLOBAL ORDER
Trump-Xi summit buys 100 days of calm that South-east Asia could use
Extended US-China trade truce stabilises relations, but Asean remains caught between opposing pressures
IN FEBRUARY 1950, in the dark days of the Cold War, Winston Churchill coined the term “summit”, when advocating for a talk with the Soviet Union at the highest level. The British statesman said it was “not easy to see how matters could be worsened by a parley at the summit”.
Sometimes, diplomacy asks us to be content with very little. The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday (Sep 24) was one of those occasions.
Why there is reason for relief
No grand bargain was struck. No breakthrough on Taiwan or Iran. No settlement of the disputes over rare earths, semiconductor control or the wider trade relationship.
