So, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are meeting in Beijing this week, and if the footage is

anything like prior summits, will be treated to two men in suits walking very slowly

through a building, shaking hands at a slightly uncomfortable distance, and staring at each other

like two people who've been set up on a blind date by a mutual friend who has since

left the country. Now to recap how we got here because it has been quite a journey. Last

year tariffs between the United States and China hit levels that hadn't been seen since

the 1930s. The US put tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods, China retaliated with tariffs of 125%

on American goods, and then, just to keep things interesting, restricted exports of rare

earth minerals, which are used in basically everything from vacuum cleaners to fighter

jets, but mostly vacuum cleaners.

This went on for a while, and then both sides appeared to quietly realize that they were

running out of things to put tariffs on, so they agreed to a 90-day truce, which is the one currently

in effect, and which expires

in November.

Now, expectations for this summit are, to put it generously, modest.

The press have taken to calling it the Beans and Boeing Summit, which tells you something

about the level of ambition.

Both leaders arrive at this summit under considerable domestic stress, but for very different

reasons.

China is dealing with a property sector that has been falling for years and shows no real

signs of stopping.

Youth unemployment that the government briefly dealt with by not publishing the numbers anymore,

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