In late September 2026, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping convened a summit that placed the full weight of the world's most consequential bilateral relationship on the negotiating table. At stake is not merely the fate of tariffs or trade deals, but the deeper question of whether two rival powers can find a shared grammar for coexistence in an era defined by artificial intelligence, economic interdependence, and geopolitical competition. History will note this moment as one where the choice between managed rivalry and open confrontation was still, however narrowly, available to both sides.