“Trump gave the hardliners plenty of space,” Wang said, adding that they consisted mainly of officials in the military and security. “It’s become politically incorrect to call for a deal.”
Trump has his own political concerns to worry about. In announcing the truce, he spoke at length about how China would be buying more farm goods from “great patriots” in the Midwest -- even though no details of any purchases have been announced by either side. Officials in Beijing said China pledged to do no such thing before a final deal is struck.
But many in Beijing also saw Trump’s eagerness to restart trade talks as a sign the U.S. wouldn’t push for a more extreme Cold War-style conflict or economic decoupling. The Huawei blacklist was starting to hurt American firms as well, and it didn’t make much electoral sense to alienate big business ahead of an election.
“Trump almost tore down the house, but he didn’t burn it,” said Shou Huisheng, an associate professor of countries and regional studies at Beijing Language and Culture University. “The current competition is about who is strong, who will dominate the world in the future. It’s a chess war.”
Bloomberg News.