The two most powerful men in the world, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, just concluded their first in-person meeting since 2019. The meeting represents a brief truce between the United States and China after months of intense geo-economic conflict. In exchange for Chinese help in cracking down on fentanyl, Trump agreed to lower its tariffs on Chinese exports to 10 percent. The United States also agreed to a one-year pause on a planned expansion of sanctions, and China reciprocated with a similar pause on its recently announced rare earth mineral export controls. Both sides also agreed to a one-year delay of reciprocal port fees for Chinese and US–related ships. China will resume purchases of American soybeans and commit to finding a resolution to American concerns over Tiktok ownership.

It’s good that the United States and China finally managed to find some common ground. But a closer look at the broader trajectory of US-China relations shows that there’s little to be optimistic about. After decades of “Chimerica” — the liberal dream of ever-closer economic ties between world’s two largest economies – the United States and China are both engaged in a process of delinking their supply chains and fortifying their markets to eliminate mutual dependencies.