LONDON: Within the cult movie The Princess Bride, the hero Westley tips a villain, Vizzini, into killing himself in a battle of wits. Vizzini has to decide on between two cups of wine, certainly one of which Westley says is poisoned.
The truth is, Westley’s cup can be poisoned, however he survives: he had spent years build up immunity to the toxin. By means of lengthy and cautious preparation, Westley gained the battle of wits lengthy earlier than it had begun.
Substitute Xi Jinping for Westley and Donald Trump for Vizzini, and this week’s US-China trade talks in London make much more sense. They didn’t finish within the US mendacity lifeless on the bottom, however not far off.
The edges agreed on a comically imprecise framework of co-operation, with the US asking for a handshake to seal the deal – an exercise at which Donald Trump, because it occurs, is famously poor.
THE CLEAR WINNER
Neither is he a lot good at negotiating. Beijing is the clear winner in these early skirmishes. Trump has now lifted a lot of the terribly punitive tariffs he has imposed on China since his inauguration.
