Analysts say the virtual meeting between the Chinese and U.S. presidents on Thursday serves as an important channel of tension de-escalation, and encourages crucial collaboration in a time of serious economic challenges. According to professor Zhu Weibin, director of Institute of Taiwan Studies at Sun Yat-sen University, the China-U.S. trade, which used to be a “stabilizing ballast” of bilateral ties, will take a back seat to political power struggles for at least the next decade. For American importers who are still subject to Trump-era tariffs, frequent leader-to-leader exchanges could be a sign that certain relief measures may be on the horizon.