When summits do count

Trump and Xi holding a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC last month. — AFP/Getty Images

DESPITE mainstream opinion dismissing the prospects of improving United States-China relations from last month’s Washington summit, signs of progress are adding up.

In the “eight-point consensus,” Presidents Trump and Xi agree to extend the tariff truce, launch a US$30bil (RM122.6bil) reciprocal tariff reduction scheme, create a bilateral trade council, sign an MoU for military crisis communication and prevention, form a channel for AI-linked incidents, and cooperate closely against narcotics.