New Delhi, April 9 -- An image on the 3 April cover of The Economist shows an angry US President Donald Trump shouting on one side, with China's President Xi Jinping calmly smiling on the other. "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake," says the headline.

A revealing picture in the White House's archives shows US National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai shaking hands in Beijing on 9 July 1971, when Kissinger made his secret dash for a detente with China.

The press was told that Kissinger was unwell and resting in Pakistan. President Yahya Khan of Pakistan had arranged the meeting, which was followed by another between Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong on 21 February 1972 to formalize the detent...