Analysts see only modest breakthrough in ties between world's two largest economies.

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As Trump and Xi prepare to wrap up two days of meetings on Friday, the expectations among observers generally are modest at best. While Trump and Xi are anticipated to extend the one-year pause in their trade war agreed to in South Korea in October, the prevailing outlook is a stabilisation – not revitalisation – in ties between the world’s two largest economies, which are locked in a rivalry that spans everything from trade and artificial intelligence to the status of Taiwan. “It is important to be clear-eyed about the state of relations here,” Claire E Reade, a senior counsel at Arnold Porter who previously worked on China at the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), told Al Jazeera. “China does not trust the US, and China wants to beat the US in what it sees as long-term global competition,” Reade said.

What You Need to Know

  • Source: Al Jazeera
  • Published: May 15, 2026 at 03:05 UTC
  • Category: World
  • Topics: #aljazeera · #world-news · #middle-east · #china · #analysts

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Curated by GlobalBR News · May 15, 2026