The recent US-China summit yielded a narrow, caution-filled outcome for bilateral trade: a two-month extension of the Kuala Lumpur trade truce, which now expires on January 10 next year. This reprieve eases fears of immediate tariff escalation and shows that head-of-state diplomacy can still curb spiralling confrontation. Yet the short timeline exposes the wide gulf separating the two sides’ priorities. China’s position has been unambiguous: removal of all punitive tariffs and restrictive...