ART OF RECALIBRATION: TRUMP-XI DEAL A TRUCE, NOT RESOLUTION

"THE first face-to-face in six years between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping was a cautious attempt to steady the relationship between the two largest economies that had been strained more than ever by tariff battles.

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Absent in South Korea's Busan was the drama of earlier summits; instead, both sides focused on pragmatic signalling. Trump, characteristically exuberant, hailed the discussion as a "12 out of 10", while Xi described it more reservedly as a "reassuring pill" for global markets. Between these contrasting temperaments perhaps lay the essence of the encounter-not a real breakthrough but a careful recalibration, and certainly a pause in a long and uncertain rivalry.