US-China ties stabilise but trade concerns remain

Significance

Their meeting eclipsed the APEC session in San Francisco, as did the Biden administration’s eleventh-hour decision to suspend the trade pillar of its four-part Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), which was expected to be finalised at the gathering.

Impacts

• The US policy focus on the Israel-Hamas conflict and the war in Ukraine will slow but not cancel Washington’s pivot to Asia.
• While both parties will run on opposing China next year, Israel, Ukraine and southern border security will be larger issues.
• Any possibility for the completion of the IPEF pillars will depend on the Democrats winning the White House in 2024.