‘Looming dangers’ under China-US ties: AI and rare earths reveal a fragile floor

Deep-seated structural rivalry and lingering regulatory barriers are likely to limit any thaw in China-US ties, even though last month’s summit put a temporary floor under the fragile relationship, an expert from China’s top state-affiliated think tank has warned.Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Dalian on Thursday, Zhao Hai, of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), struck a cautious note on the trajectory of the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship, saying the calm remained fragile.“I’m not that rosy about the future because the structural forces are still working,” said Zhao, director of the international politics programme at CASS’ National Institute for Global Strategy.Zhao Hai, from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, is not optimistic about the thaw in China-US ties. Photo: CASSHe pointed to “looming dangers” from tariffs, technology disruptions and investment restrictions that continued to cast a shadow over the relationship despite high-level diplomacy.