Xi Jinping is in Southeast Asia to build bonds with countries that also face U.S. tariffs and have come under pressure from Washington to curb the transshipment of Chinese goods.

Beijing has warned its trading partners against succumbing to US pressure to isolate China in President Donald Trump’s tariff war, as part of its carrot-and-stick approach to win over countries caught between the world’s two largest economies.

President Trump hinted this week that the tariff spat with China might end soon, but with the Chinese showing few signs of backing down, will the U.S. be forced to blink first? Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and trustee chair in Chinese business and economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies,