But the fact that the two economic and military giants are talking – and pledging to talk some more – suggests some period of relative stability ahead, certainly relative to last year’s all-out trade war, chest-thumping and market turmoil, said analysts, companies and former US officials.
“Both countries are demonstrating some degree of restraint,” said Sara Schuman, managing director at consultancy Beacon Global Strategies and a former US diplomat in Beijing. “The optics that President Xi is travelling to Washington and he’s receiving a full state visit with a state dinner, this is in itself the core deliverable.”
By that definition, the visit was chock full.