Alliance faultlines emerge

Pouting: Trump is unhappy so many have visited China before him, amid the same dying embers of a trade war, making it tough to present his trip as unique or brilliant, says the writer. — AFP

IN 2013, then German chancellor Angela Merkel and her compatriots were furious after the US National Security Agency (NSA) was exposed for spying on 69 members of her government.

She confronted then US president Barack Obama about it and he apologised, saying it would not happen again. A BBC report said she did not appear convinced.