India, Oct. 31 -- On October 23, 2025, a week before the well-trumpeted summit between the US President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, the Economist magazine wrote, "There could be a pause in American tariffs in return for a delay in imposing the rare-earth controls, with some soyabean purchases thrown in and blessings for the proposed deal to sell TikTok, a Chinese-controlled social-media platform, to American owners. Yet make no mistake: The prospect unfolding is not of two countries overcoming their differences, but of belligerent giants weaponising their economic power. And even as China is winning Trump's trade war, the retreat from open commerce ultimately makes everyone a loser."

Prescient words, indeed. While it may...