Episode 158 – Interdependence Strikes Back — Breaking Down the U.S.-China Summit

As the world’s two largest economies navigate an increasingly complex relationship, the second 2026 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping last week offered a fresh window into the future of competition and cooperation between Washington and Beijing.

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Paul Haenle, Managing Director and Head of APAC Policy and Strategic Competitiveness at the JPMorganChase Center for Geopolitics; Samm Sacks, Senior Fellow at New America and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); and Logan Wright, Partner and Head of China Markets Research at Rhodium Group and author of the new book Broken China: How the Economic Miracle Shattered and What it Means for the World, to assess what emerged from the summit.

Together, they explore the extension of the trade truce, the beginnings of an AI safety dialogue, the evolving economic balance between the two countries, and the deeper strategic tensions shaping the relationship, while also assessing whether recent stabilization efforts can endure future shocks amid persistent frictions over Taiwan, technology competition, and domestic political pressures.

This IIF Podcast was hosted by Clay Lowery, Executive Vice President, Research and Policy, with production and research contributions from Christian Klein, Digital Graphics and Production Associate and Miranda Silverman, Senior Program Assistant.