China and the US: Deep-seated differences remain

WHILE China and the United States once again appear to be close to a trade agreement, the fact that it is a "first phase" accord makes it clear that intractable issues have been left for a second and, possibly, third phase.

Meanwhile, senior members of the Trump administration have ratcheted up the rhetoric, subjecting China to rare criticism about its increasing authoritarianism.

Vice-President Mike Pence, in a speech on Oct 24, criticised China's trade surplus with the United States, Beijing's treatment of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, alleged Chinese theft of American intellectual property, and Chinese militarisation of the South China Sea.