Sino File | US-China trade deal isn’t the breakthrough Trump claims, but it’s a start

A much-heralded US-China trade deal has sent the clearest signal yet of warming between the world’s two most influential nations.

The deal, which follows the Mar-a-Lago summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping (習近平), has been hailed as “an early harvest” of the 100-day plan that Xi proposed to Trump in an effort to address the huge trade imbalance between the world’s two largest economies, something that has long caused friction between them.

Analysts see the agreement as a positive sign that the two leaders can work together, despite the difficulties facing them due to differences over politics, ideology, and strategy.

The deal also signifies a broader shift in managing US-China relations that reflects Trump’s priorities and strategies, as well as Xi’s efforts to meet him halfway. In his “Make America Great Again” election campaign, Trump made his nation’s massive trade deficits a major issue, targeting China in particular.

Beijing has apparently made some concessions in areas that might have been picked to maximise the political benefit to Trump. It has agreed to open its market to US credit rating agencies and credit card companies and resume imports of US beef, for example. However, it’s worth noting that Beijing’s offers are aimed at helping to expand US exports rather than curtail Chinese exports, in an effort to achieve what Xi would refer to as “win-win cooperation”. The deal comes into effect on July 16.

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That is why Trump has made a U-turn from viewing China as the number one enemy to calling Xi a “great friend” with whom he shares “good chemistry”. His earlier labelling of China as a currency manipulator, his challenging of Washington’s commitment to the “one-China” policy, and his breaking of diplomatic protocol to have a telephone conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ying-wen, have all been consigned to the past. These have apparently been replaced with personal rapport between him and Xi and a partnership between the world’s leading free democracy and its last major communist-ruled nation.

WATCH: Trump says he’s developed a friendship with Xi