The recent summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump captured global attention. The summit between the two global superpowers illustrated a significant paradox in international geopolitics: both sides pursue competing strategic interests, yet neither could afford a direct military confrontation. US President Donald Trump welcomed his counterpart, President Xi Jinping, on his first-ever state visit to the United States in eleven years, with considerable diplomatic warmth. However, the underlying disagreements dividing the two sides remain. 

The Xi-Trump Summit: A Trade Deal Amid Strategic Rivalry

During the recent meeting between Trump and Xi, the United States and China extended their trade agreement until January 10, while issues such as artificial intelligence, technological restrictions, rare earth minerals, and the US-Iran war remained among the principal topics discussed, with no significant progress on any of them. Therefore, the Trump-Xi summit could be interpreted as the start of a new détente between the two countries. Its importance lies in the bilateral efforts to contain growing risks of military confrontation. 

In the past two decades, the China-US competition has moved beyond tariffs and trade deficits. Issues like technological competition, geopolitical influence, and national security have intertwined with economic competition between the two sides. Moreover, artificial intelligence, rare earth minerals, semiconductors, and advanced technologies have emerged as strategic assets for both superpowers. However, Taiwan remains a major source of strategic tension, with developments in the Taiwan Strait carrying the risk of escalating into a military confrontation between China and the United States.

The trade war was one of the key issues discussed during this meeting. However, other contentious issues, including AI, technology, the Iran war, and the Taiwan issue, were also part........

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