Mr Trump’s breezy style has long disconcerted China’s leaders. In the spring of 2017 he called Mr Xi so often to ask for help with North Korea that Chinese envoys eventually delivered a discreet message to American contacts. Mr Xi is “not our North Korean desk officer”, they pleaded: let underlings handle most of this.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has broken his silence on the deepening trade war with the United States, saying there will be "no winners." He warned President Donald Trump that China is "not afraid"—and shortly after his statement, Beijing announced reciprocal tariffs of 125% on all U.S. imports.