Episode 47: On the Trail to the U.S.-China Summit with Stephen Olson

In this episode of Trade Policy Decoded, Pru and Peter host Steve Olson in discussing U.S.-China relations in the lead up to this week’s Summit. Tuning in from Bangkok, Steve speaks from an extensive career, some of which was spent in service as a United States Trade Official, as a research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation, and most recently as a senior fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute at the National University of Singapore.

Taking stock of U.S-China relations, this episode considers the key areas to watch moving forward, and what some of the most likely Summit developments will be. While relations may be frayed between Beijing and Washington, there are still shared areas of concern and the potential for cooperation in various domains. Although it is unlikely that cooperation will extend whole-heartedly into reducing regional tensions in a meaningful sense, cooperation on issues such as Artificial Intelligence and in maintaining the existing ‘Trade Truce’ struck in Korea last year could become positive take aways from the Summit. In closing out the episode, Pru, Peter and Steve also look to what signs Australia and Southeast Asia might be paying attention to as talks between Washington and Beijing begin.