Xi-Trump summit: what ‘strategic stability’ means for US-China ties

One formulation emerging from the summit between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Beijing merits particular attention: the reference in China’s official readout to a “constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability” that should guide ties “over the next three years and beyond”. The wording is noteworthy, and not simply because it points to an effort to stabilise a difficult relationship in the short term. It suggests a broader attempt to place the management of...

By Nong Hong