Trump-Xi summit hopes, UN ‘manipulation’, stand-up comedy: 7 US-China relations reads
From stand-up success to alleged UN scheming, here are highlights from our overseas correspondents in the second half of March 2026
1. Trump-Xi summit will be very amicable, predicts former Biden official
US President Donald Trump’s focus on short-term deliverables and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s bid for bilateral stability are likely to mean an exceptionally amicable summit when they finally sit down, despite “unusual” circumstances brought by the Iran conflict, former senior US diplomat Kurt Campbell said in March.
2. How American Jesse Appell learned to land the punchline in Chinese
In 2012, American Jesse Appell stepped off a plane in China on a Fulbright scholarship to study an unusual subject: the art of Chinese comedy.
3. US faces critical shortage of China expertise within a decade, report warns
The United States will face a “critical shortage” of China expertise within a decade that threatens to leave policymakers struggling to manage Washington’s most consequential strategic relationship, a report said.