As the international order moves from an era of US-led hegemony to one of multipolarity, overlapping spheres of influence will increase the chances of economic and political friction. Global prosperity requires that the multilateral free-trade system be maintained and strengthened, and this can be achieved only if the national security interests of regional powers are assured.

China and US should find a way to manage their disputes without stumbling into a trade war.

With the United States suddenly cutting funding for international development projects, China faces a clear path to uncontested leadership in energy investment. Looking far beyond the already-ambitious goals laid out in the One Belt One Road initiative, Beijing has now announced another: financing a global power grid.

The next China-EU summit to be held in Beijing on July 16-17 will be used by leaders of the two sides to send a strong message against U.S. protectionism, signaling a change in EU-Chinese relations.

As President Trump seeks to ramp up pressure on China by implementing additional tariffs, he and his administration may find the constraints of international law and WTO procedures hard to circumvent. Washington should suspend its tariff threat, sit down with President Xi’s reform-minded team and press for the further liberalization of China’s foreign direct investment and intellectual property rights regimes.

Rather than helping Pakistan’s economy, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is creating a debt trap for Pakistan which will result in Pakistan’s continued economic dependence on China.

Dominic Ng warns that closer US scrutiny into investments by foreign companies could lead to a blanket ban on Chinese funding in specific sectors, in turn dealing a blow to US jobs, America’s investors, and its reputation for transparency and openness.

President Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on ZTE may have been due to China’s announcement of retaliatory tariffs on agricultural goods: tariffs that significantly impact the livelihoods of the U.S. farming community, one of Trump’s biggest supporters.

Although the leaders of the SCO member-states emphasised that the Qingdao summit will be a new departure point for the organisation and agreed in principle that there is a need for a roadmap of actions, it still remains unclear what the SCO can really offer.

The trade war may well be an early skirmish in a much tougher battle, during which economics will ultimately trump Trump.