Only a month after U.S. President Donald Trump praised “progress” in talks with China, the two powers are now racing to save a planned Xi-Trump summit just a week away, each side blaming the other for rising tensions.

Even if the talks between Trump and President Xi Jinping can be put back on track, experts say each side’s belief that it has the upper hand, coupled with China’s tougher posture, makes a narrow deal on a few issues the most likely outcome.

“China believes negotiations alone are insufficient and that effective countermeasures against the United States are necessary to prevent the U.S. from exerting pressure,” said Wu Xinbo, an expert on ties between the two biggest economies.

At risk are a fragile truce negotiated over months and the world’s most important trade relati

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