Stormy days ahead in US-China relations

THE decision by China and the United States to have negotiators meet in Buenos Aires ahead of a Dec 1 meeting between President Xi Jinping and Donald Trump suggests that the two sides feel that a trade accord may be within reach, South China Morning Post has said.

Both men will attend the G20 summit in Argentina from Nov 30 to Dec 1 and a bilateral summit is planned, most probably immediately after the G20 ends.

Mr Trump had previously reported that the Chinese had made concessions that are "very complete", with only a few things left out but "we'll probably get them too". So the hope is that intensified negotiations in the run-up to the US-China summit will result in an accord.

But while a truce may be called to the trade war, much more profound differences will remain, which will need to be faced sooner or later. Next month, the US and China will mark the 40th anniversary of their announcement in 1978 that they would establish diplomatic relations on Jan 1, 1979. How this anniversary is observed will be analysed by political commenta…