Trump's bromances with Xi and Abe

THE US-China trade talks have been suspended for more than two weeks with no sign of a revival. Listening to Donald Trump talk about his good friend Xi Jinping, one may be forgiven for thinking that the two men could easily sort things out between their two countries if they put their minds to it but so far, this has not been the case.

With Mr Trump, it seems, it was love at first sight at the American leader's estate in Mar-a-Lago, Florida in April 2017. "We have developed a friendship," he told the media after his first meeting with the Chinese president. Mr Trump spoke of the "great chemistry" between them and said: "We like each other, I like him a lot."

The Chinese leader was more restrained. Speaking of the bilateral relationship, he said there were "a thousand reasons to get China-US relations right, and not one single reason to spoil them".