It was a little over six months ago that Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met for a bilateral discussion at the previous G20 heads of government meeting in Buenos Aires. To general surprise, the two declared a truce in the trade war that had been escalating between their respective countries, and decided to talk further.

At the end of this week the presidents of the US and China will meet again, also at the G20, this time held in Japan. In the meantime, the atmosphere has turned toxic and trust between the two has all but collapsed.

Following the meeting in December, Washington and Beijing started to negotiate seriously over a detailed agreement that would constrain China’s ability to intervene in its economy in a way that distorts trade. In return, the US would hold off imposing more tariffs on China and start to undo the actions it had already taken.