Truce therefore, some even speaks of peace. If the experts are not wrong. US President Donald Trump and his Beijing colleague Xi Jinping have agreed not to fuel the trade dispute between their countries for the time being. This is actually good news, because an escalation would have put a heavy strain on the already fragile global economic growth. This danger has now been averted.
However, only for the time being, because the basic problem remains. China wants to replace the US politically and economically as world power number one, the Americans want to prevent just this: that – and not the trade balance – is the real core of the dispute.
Xi Jinping is under pressure to succeed internally
Add to that the nature of the two presidents and the circumstances in which they work. Trump is a player who thinks in the category of victory and defeat. He needs aggravations and near-disasters in order to continue to mark the strong man. Xi, in turn, may not be Narcissus. However, he is internally under pressure to succeed and is also a cool power politician who does not have the big picture in mind, but constantly trying to gain time for China’s march to the top of the world. It does not sound like a lasting peace.
