Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s erstwhile domestic political adviser, and Wang Qishan make for one of the oddest political couples in Sino-US relations.
But the recent secret meeting between the godfather of the US “alt right” movement and the Chinese Communist party’s ruthless anti-graft tsar was consistent with Beijing’s rapidly growing interest in US economic nationalism.
It has also stoked speculation that Wang Qishan, though at 69 already past the assumed retirement age for senior Communist officials, may be tapped by President Xi Jinping for a second five-year term at the apex of Chinese politics when a key Party Congress convenes next month.