The trade deficit between China and the US is a little bit more complex than simply comparing import and expert, says financial expert Sara Hsu to the CGTN. It starts with American companies making a profit by manufacturing in China and then exporting it to the US. And then goes on. Reducing the trade deficit might not be straightforward.

Nationalism has been a double-edged sword in China’s domestic policy, where the leadership mostly tried to control this natural sentiment among its citizens. But Xi Jinping is clearly taking a different direction when it comes to his foreign policy, tells economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know® to the South China Morning Post.

Internet giants Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba increasingly buy into innovative companies to stay ahead of the competition. They have become dominant investment vehicles, says business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order, to the South China Morning Post.

Rumors say China is willing to offer a reduction of its annual trade deficit with the US by US$200 billion. Even if China would be willing to do so, it would almost be “difficult to contemplate.”, says political analyst Victor Shih to Bloomberg.

Despite the fast ups and downs in the relations between the US and China, the fundamental animosity between the world’s largest economies is just not going away, says economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know® to the South China Morning Post. Despite Donald Trump’s easing of the fight with ZTE, he does not expect a huge change in the tensions.

European companies are running behind in defining a good strategy in catching up with China, writes Mark Greeven, professor at the Zhejiang University,  in the LSE Business Review. “The reality is that Chinese companies have no choice but to innovate and upgrade in global value chains.”

China’s massive One-Belt, One-Road program has often been compared with the US Marshal plan after the Second World War. Keen to reap the benefits, risks have also been highlighted, writes financial analyst Sara Hsu at Capital Watch. US investors like Marc Merlino, head of Citi’s global subsidiaries group started to explore the field, she writes.

Many successful Chinese companies listed in the US, rather than in China, because of the stringent regulations in their own country. Now going IPO in China is at least becoming easier, says business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order to Harbour Times. And some Chinese companies might come back from the US.

China’s deep Confucian roots do influence the way the internet has developed, says marketing veteran Tom Doctoroff, author of What Chinese Want: Culture, Communism, and China’s Modern Consumer, to the South Morning Post. “I call it pride commerce, where there is the idea that you are what you buy … and that sharing your interests is a way to make your identity stronger,” Doctoroff said.

The trade dispute between the US and China is moving from commodities to tech, says economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know® to the South China Morning Post. Getting a deal will be tough, says Kroeber: “The problem from China’s perspective is: can you trust the US to stick to any deal you cut with them?”