Trade Deal No Panacea for Rocky US Relations With China

U.S. President Donald Trump stands between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer prior to signing "phase one" of the U.S.-China trade agreement with Liu in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 15, 2020. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

WASHINGTON/BEIJING—From Huawei to the South China Sea, deep political rifts between Beijing and Washington are set to persist, despite a trade relations breakthrough, as the United States pushes back against an increasingly powerful and assertive China.

Relations between the world’s two largest economies have deteriorated sharply since U.S. President Donald Trump imposed punitive trade tariffs in 2018, igniting a trade war.