China and North Korea: What now if Xi-Trump bromance is over?

Brace for a sanctions-induced trade war between the world’s two biggest economies

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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping: Is the bromance over? Photo: AFP

Published: 10:30am, 8 Jul 2017Updated: 11:26am, 8 Jul 2017

“Move over, Putin. Xi Jinping ( 習近平 ) is Trump’s new man-crush,” headlined Slate on a moonstruck US president who couldn’t stop gushing about the Chinese leader after their Mar-a-Lago summit three months ago. They had struck a “great chemistry” and “terrific relationship”, and the US and China would now work together, he declared to the world, in an extraordinary turnaround for a man who built a political career trashing China.

The sole factor behind the change of heart was North Korea. He was willing to keep his protectionist passion in check if China showed its troublesome neighbour some tough love. “I really feel that he is doing everything in his power to help us with a big situation,” he effused in one interview at the time, praising Xi’s government for turning back coal shipments from North Korea.

WATCH: North Korea claims successful test of intercontinental ballistic missile

This week, all that wide-eyed optimism was gone, replaced by the bitterness of a disillusioned suitor coming to terms with the folly of his misplaced affections, as North Korea tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Before embarking on his Europe tour for the G20 summit, a tweet from an injured Trump on Wednesday read: “Trade between China and North Korea grew almost 40 per cent in the first quarter. So much for China working with us – but we had to give it a try!”

“The situation with North Korea has entered a particularly dangerous phase; the fallout with China is unclear,” said Satu Limaye, director of the East-West Centre in Washington. “The ballasts for US-China relations are less grounded now and we may be entering a period of particular dissonance between Beijing and Washington.”

North Korea’s passed a dangerous nuclear threshold – did anybody notice?

Like other North Korean missile tests, the one on July 4 that has thrown the brief tango between the two powers off balance was a lofted vertical launch. But this one reached a height of 2,800km. In a more typical horizontal trajectory, it could have travelled 6,500km, putting all of Alaska within its range. Though the lower 48 American states and Hawaii would still be out of reach, the threat of a nuclear strike on the US mainland now looks increasingly real – a risk Trump thought he had hedged against by doubling down on Xi.