Will Donald Trump and Xi Jinping rekindle their ‘great chemistry’ at the G20 summit?
- Issues such as the trade war may ultimately hinge on how well the Chinese and American leaders get on during their talks in Argentina this weekend
- The volatile US president has blown hot and cold towards his Chinese counterpart, but the meeting in Buenos Aires offers a chance for a reset
As the leaders of China and the United States prepare for their much-anticipated meeting in Argentina over the weekend, the South China Morning Post looks at the increasingly strained ties between the two nations. This first part looks at the personal relationship between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump.
Chinese and American officials may have spent weeks preparing for the high-stakes summit between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump this weekend, but any hopes of resolving the current trade war may ultimately hinge on their personal chemistry.
Their encounter in Buenos Aires on the sidelines of the G20 summit will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in nearly a year – and the first since Trump started the trade war over the summer.
Given the stakes involved, observers will be closely watching for any clue as to how things are going, down to the two leaders’ demeanour and body language.
“In the history of China-US relations, it has always been determined by the top leaders,” said Ni Feng, a specialist on Sino-US relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“For example, the decision to establish diplomatic relations [in the 1970s] was decided and known only to a few people.”
