Zheng Yongnian on China-US realism and battling for the upper hand before the next summit

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Chinese political scientist and government adviser Zheng Yongnian discusses China–US relations and competition for influence ahead of a prospective Xi–Trump summit. He responds to assessments that an earlier Washington summit produced little breakthrough, outlining differing interpretations of the relationship.

Zheng Yongnian is a political scientist in China and a government adviser. His academic work is mainly about contemporary China, particularly politics, the country’s transformation and its external relations. This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here. Many have offered a lukewarm assessment of the Xi-Trump summit in Washington, citing the lack of a breakthrough. What is your take? There are two primary views right now. One is...