The United States and China have settled into a steady state of pragmatic, if uneasy, détente.

Tariffs sit at unprecedented, but not economically debilitating levels. Three rounds of bilateral talks have steadily developed and expanded, with a fourth expected this fall. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are circling an in person meeting before the end of the year.

“I don’t think anyone wants to see those tariffs snap back to 84%,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said ahead of Trump’s decision to sign off on a 90-day extension of the trade truce agreement put into place in May.

But beneath the surface, Trump’s trade war has dramatically accelerated efforts to find and demonstrate an ability to exploit vulnerabilities that will define the future of the relati

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