In Washington next week, two of the world's most consequential leaders will sit across from one another in a moment that carries the weight of global interdependence. President Trump and President Xi Jinping are preparing for high-level talks that span the full arc of US-China friction — from trade and technology to the delicate security architecture of the Indo-Pacific. That the meeting takes place on American soil is itself a quiet signal: both sides have chosen dialogue over distance, even as the rivalry between them deepens.