Yang, a state councillor, is the highest-level Chinese official to visit the US since Trump took ­office in late January. Also at Yang’s meeting with Trump were US Vice-President Mike Pence and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Observers have said that a summit between Xi and Trump was crucial to set the tone for Sino-US ties. Yuan Zheng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of American Studies, said the talks between Yang and Trump indicated that Sino-US ties were on a better track. But shortly after Yang’s trip, Trump surprised both China and Washington by breaking decades of protocol and taking a phone call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

Source: Sunday Times March 01, 2017 05:05 UTC