Trade war tensions sky high as Trump and Xi prepare to meet at G20 summit

A looming 'technology war' in which the US and China are at each other's throats in the technology space is one of many disruptive elements of a trade conflict

The word “consequential” is a popular fallback for commentators seeking to invest a particular event with the significance it might warrant. On occasions, the word is misused to inflate a moment that does not rise to the level of “consequential”.

However, it would be difficult to argue against the proposition that leaders of the world’s largest economies are meeting late this week in Osaka at what is potentially a consequential moment in the reordering of a global power balance.

China’s rise and America’s ragged – sometimes bellicose – response under a Donald Trump administration is proving to be the