Letter from China: US-China trade deal in the last chance saloon

Presidents Trump and Xi’s compact on rebalancing may be the next domino to fall

Relations between the US and China have sunk to new lows with unprecedented speed on virtually every bone of contention between the two economic superpowers recently—Huawei, Hong Kong, TikTok and Taiwan to name but a few. Next to unravel could be the sole glimmer of hope in Sino-US relations: the phase one economic and trade agreement signed in mid-January. Seven months on, it looks increasingly unlikely that China will live up to the ambitious targets for purchases in the trade deal that include procuring US energy products. China is significantly behind on imports of American LNG, crude oil, refined products and coal and, unless something extraordinary occurs, Beijing will not meet its tar