India, May 15 -- In April 2025, US President Donald Trump fired the first shots in his trade war against China (and the rest of the world). Some countries quickly capitulated, but the Chinese dug in their heels, and responded in kind. Eventually, the two countries seemed to arrive at some sort of detente - one that was subsequently rendered irrelevant by a US court ruling on Trump's Liberation Day tariffs.

A little over a year later, the main focus of Trump's two-day visit to China, his first since 2017, was less about confrontation and more about boosting business ties between the two countries. After all, efforts by the first Trump Presidency, the Biden administration, and the tariffs-led trade war of 2025 have not dented China's stand...