Long-suffering observers of Chinese-American relations have a plea:
banish the term "grand bargain".
might overcome their countries' rivalry to strike a major, even epochal, deal.
They imagined a package involving some mix of balanced trade,
real openings in the Chinese market and American military retrenchment in East Asia.
When the two leaders meet in Beijing on May 14th and 15th,
they will accomplish far less.
All going well, they will prolong their countries' tetchy trade truce—
and that is about it.
Mr Trump's mere presence in Beijing is a small victory.
was delayed because of the Iran war.
not least because it is meant to be the first of four meetings between the two men this year.
Such a tight schedule cannot withstand further delay.
The refrain from almost everyone involved is that at least they are talking.
One year ago they were on the brink of a mammoth trade war.
America had set tariffs on Chinese goods at 145%
and China's rare-earth export controls threatened global industry.
A worldwide recession loomed.
That danger paved the way to a truce, agreed on in October 2025.
Both scaled back tariffs, China resumed shipments of rare earths