Despite agreeing to a ceasefire, the two sides offered differing depictions of their trade war truce that show a lasting peace may still be out of reach.
At a time when the rules-based trading system is being shredded and the Paris Agreement risks unravelling, it is vital that the G20 meeting between the two superpowers is a constructive one.
PNG is enjoying unfamiliar global attention after the APEC summit earlier this week, and the rivalry between the United States and China to exert influence in the region.
Summit season is usually a bit of a bore - worthy subjects lost in acronyms and diplomatic niceties. Not so this year as US-China tensions tore at the fabric of multi-lateralism.
Ongoing volatility is causing intense debate about how to manage relations between the two powerful nation, which is only likely to become more challenging.
Cold War 2.0 may not be fanciful: The US and China are plainly entering a period of significant geopolitical rivalry, and each has ambitions that are mutually incompatible.
Vladimir Putin may well have something on Donald Trump. But their close ties could also be about oil prices and Trump’s efforts to get Russia to ends it alliance with China.
Expectations for Trump’s engagement with the region may be low, but the same could not be said for the stakes at a time of considerable uncertainty and risk.
China’s conventional military assets are intimidating enough, but its latest technological advances could transform the military balance in its neighbourhood.
The international community – and the U.S. and China in particular – should give serious thought to what might be North Korea’s cyberattack equivalent of a nuclear weapons test.
Uncertainty persists about what “America First” will mean for US-Asia policy, and the Secretary of State’s recent tour of the region leaves us none the wiser.