Yasin Gungor
22 January 2026•Update: 22 January 2026
ISTANBUL
Experts analyzed the complex US-China relationship Wednesday through what former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called "the three T's" -- tariffs, technology and Taiwan -- during a World Economic Forum panel examining where the superpowers will land.
"There are the three T's -- tariffs, technology and Taiwan -- if you're going to go to the core of where these interests actually intersect or run into each other," Rudd said at the Davos, Switzerland gathering titled “US and China: Where Will They Land?”
Chinese scholar Zhao Hai from the National Institute for Global Strategy criticized US President Donald Trump's approach, noting the US leader wants to "dominate AI and also crypto, leaving China sort of outside the game" while China seeks win-win cooperation.
Zhao said Trump praises his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping but "stopped short of mentioning specifics" on cooperation beyond personal ties, adding the president falsely claimed "there's no wind farm in China."
Harvard professor Graham Allison observed Trump's demeanor shifts when discussing Xi, saying: "His eyes light up a little bit, and he says, ‘I have a great relationship with Xi. I greatly respect Xi. He's brilliant.’"
Allison noted that Trump "clearly distinguishes between Xi...and his relationship with a country" like Canada or France.
University of Southern California professor Angela Huyue Zhang said negotiations between superpowers differ fundamentally from business contracts, recalling how the earlier negotiations "broke down precisely because the two sides...did not agree on how to write a contract."
She argued that recent economic turmoil benefited mutual understanding, as "the two countries now map out each other's choke point. They understand each other better."
Delaware Sen. Chris Coons acknowledged "widespread grievance on the part of Americans about the economic consequences for our middle class of globalization," noting: "Some of this is China's fault. Much of it is not, but it nonetheless drives a political narrative."
Coons warned that insufficient military communication channels pose risks while emphasizing that America's "soft power" advantages in global health and education leadership shouldn't be surrendered.
On US strategy in the Asia-Pacific, Rudd advised those "implicitly assuming that the United States under administrations…are walking away from the Indo-Pacific" should read Washington's latest National Security Strategy "carefully."
