For a time, doe-eyed optimists and investors thought Donald Trump and Xi Jinping might overcome their countries’ rivalry to strike a major, even epochal, deal. They imagined a package involving some mix of balanced trade,

When President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet later this month, it will be against a backdrop of global upheaval. Rising oil prices, simmering regional conflict, and an increasingly unstable global economy threaten the United States and China just as leaders from both countries are seeking stability and control.

Ahead of President Trump’s highly anticipated trip to China, Xi Jinping’s biographer accentuates the differences—and draws parallels—between the two leaders.

The Trump-Xi summit isn’t likely to yield any progress. Maybe that’s the point.

The burst of violence cast fresh doubt on efforts by Washington and Tehran to reach a negotiated settlement that would end hostilities.