RSIS research analyst Lyu Mengting and Asst Prof Lee Chia-yi wrote that the US-China trade war signifies a new age of superpower competition. It is expected that the US President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet on the sidelines of the upcoming G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan in late June. But whether the summit will eventually take place or whether there will be any concrete outcomes remains a question. On a more optimistic note, the best scenario is that both sides are willing to return to the negotiation table and reach a deal that does the least harm to the global economy.

…Lyu Mengting is Research Analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Chia-yi Lee is Assistant Professor at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS) of the RSIS.