US-China trade tensions escalate as structural imbalances and unilateral probes undermine multilateral frameworks ahead of high-stakes summit

The US-China trade dispute is not merely a bilateral conflict but a symptom of a global trade regime in crisis, where unilateralism and zero-sum thinking have eroded the multilateral institutions designed to prevent such escalations.

The Section 301 probe, framed as a legal necessity, is in reality a tool of geopolitical containment, echoing historical patterns of hegemonic powers disciplining rising competitors—from the Plaza Accord to Japan's 'lost decades.' Yet the summit's outcome need not repeat these failures; a Green Trade Alliance could pivot tensions toward shared challenges like climate change, while reviving the WTO's dispute mechanism would restore predictability to global trade. The deeper failure, however, lies in the exclusion of marginalised voices—Indigenous communities, African nations, and rural workers—whose exclusion from the debate ensures that solutions remain trapped in the same power structures that created the crisis. The trickster's insight reveals the absurdity of this stalemate: two superpowers squabbling over 'excess capacity' while their own economies hemorrhage, all under the guise of 'rules-based order.' The path forward demands not just policy reforms but a cultural shift—one that centers equity, cooperation, and the wisdom of those most affected by trade's disruptions.