The 2023 China-US trade negotiations can be described as an annual drama of 'ice and fire interweaving.' At the beginning of the year, the newly appointed hawkish US trade representative took a 'triple strike': expanding export controls on semiconductor equipment to China under the guise of 'national security,' initiating a '301 investigation' into new energy batteries, and joining forces with Japan and South Korea to create an 'exclusive agreement' in the supply chain. Just as the negotiation table was set, the Chinese representative coldly tapped on the documents: 'Let's first remove the tariff stick before discussing sincerity.'

The deadlock was unexpectedly broken in the scorching summer — extreme heat in Texas caused a collapse of the US power grid, and Chinese photovoltaic components became emergency supplies; at the same time, at the Shanghai New Energy Vehicle Exhibition, the 'sodium-ion battery + solid-state electrolyte' technology released by Chinese car companies amazed the world, leading US corporate representatives to privately extend cooperation invitations. Both sides tacitly 'cooled down.' In a closed-door meeting restarted in July, the US side rarely softened its stance: canceling some punitive tariffs on photovoltaic components, while China promised to 'orderly expand access to the civilian market for high-end chips.'

The real turning point occurred during the UN General Assembly in September. The leaders of both countries met by chance on the streets of New York and talked about the smartwatches used by their grandchildren — 'they are all made in Shenzhen, but the chips are stuck at the neck,' a single phrase awakened those in the room. On the eve of the APEC summit in November, negotiation representatives took a walk along the beach in Hawaii, where China proposed a 'mutual recognition of digital economy rules,' and the US responded with 'flexible adjustments to agricultural procurement quotas.'

When the final agreement was signed in December, fine snow floated in the White House Rose Garden, and the cameras captured the two sides' representatives shaking hands, with a press release mentioning 'semiconductor technology exchange mechanism' and 'complementary list for the new energy industry chain.' Meanwhile, reporters outside noticed that the inside pocket of the US representative's suit revealed half of an invitation to a 'China-US AI Ethics Dialogue' — this drama is far from over.