When Chinese Premier Xi Jinping left his first meeting with President Donald Trump earlier this year, there seemed to be a spirit of cooperation developing between the two leaders. But in the time that has passed between then and now, things have gone downhill fast.
The G20 group of nations is meeting in Hamburg this week, and President Trump is planning to do some face to face meetings with both Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping. There are a host of topics that are creating problems between the two nations, and China has been more vocal about its discontent with the US in recent weeks.
While many had hoped that Donald Trump would be able to fit into the role of a statesman, it would appear that his brash moves are creating tensions across the globe.
A wonder at sea
President Trump acts as the commander in chief for the US Armed Forces, and as such he is directly responsible for the recent trespassing of the US Navy destroyer USS Stethem in the region of Triton Island.
This tiny island is claimed by China, as well as by Taiwan and Vietnam. It is a part of the Paracel Islands, which lay between Vietnam and the Philippines.
The US warship passed within 12 nautical miles of the disputed island, and this has elicited a strong response from Beijing, which dispatched the Chinese Navy to monitor the US destroyer.
The Chinese government sees acts like this as being a risk to their security, and have pledged to defend their maritime assets.
North Korea is in play
This all takes place against the backdrop of a worsening situation in North Korea, where President Trump has been putting pressure on China to forcefully disarm the small nation.
A few months ago it appeared that The US and China were working together to convince Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons program, and China even suspended fuel sales in an attempt to convince North Korea that changes need to be made.
Despite these efforts, President Trump recently cried out that China hasn't done enough to curb what he sees as a rogue nation.
The Japanese affirmed their commitment to US policy in the region, but Beijing has been more guarded in their official position.
Regardless of the intricacies of the North Korean situation, President Trump isn't doing anything to win favor with Beijing by making arms deals with Taiwan or violating areas that China claims as their own. It will be interesting to see what comes out of the G20 meeting, or if there will be any progress made at all.
