Bangladesh, May 17 -- The announcement of a “constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability” following US President Donald Trumps visit to Beijing may prove to be one of the most consequential diplomatic developments of the decade. At a moment when geopolitical tensions, technological rivalry, economic fragmentation, and military anxieties have pushed the international system toward instability, the attempt by Washington and Beijing to redefine their relationship deserves serious attention – but also careful scrutiny.

The phrase itself is ambitious. Strategic stability traditionally belonged to the Cold War vocabulary of nuclear deterrence between the United States and the Soviet Union. It referred primarily ...