G2 becomes more pivotal

Operational alarm: Last month a Chinese warship and its US counterpart almost collided in the disputed Spratly archipelago. – AFP

US-China relations are of great concern to much of the world, particularly this region, whether or not Washington and Beijing seem to realise it. 

DID it have to take a US-China (G2) trade war, or noises to that effect, to nurture peaceable moves in a hotly contested South China Sea?