Hong Kong, Sept. 29 -- The leaders of the world's two most powerful countries met in Washington, DC, from 23-25 September 2026. This summit between President Donald Trump and Chairman Xi Jinping was much anticipated, but the results were underwhelming and did nothing to diminish the intersecting trajectories of the two nations.

However, some take it as a positive that the two countries remain committed to engagement. Certainly, it is better than fighting, yet neither side has any manoeuvre room or appetite for compromise. That means problem areas such as Taiwan are simply kicked down the road yet again.

There were also head-scratching moments, such as when David Perdue, the US Ambassador to China, related how Trump offered to sell weapo...