‘Hold the status quo?’ US Congress reviews Xi-Trump summit outcomes
Talks between the two leaders in Washington produced a string of joint announcements, but some say it was more about managing tensions
But some American China watchers said the results fell short of a major breakthrough and were more about managing tensions than resolving the fundamental differences between the two countries.
Mike Kuiken, vice-chair of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, told the South China Morning Post that the summit was largely about “how do we hold the status quo in place”.
“I just don’t expect breakthroughs,” Kuiken said. “I think every breakthrough – which I would argue is probably most likely to be incremental – is going to be through hard-fought diplomatic discussions and negotiation.”
