The summits are not endpoints. They are the mechanism by which two countries, which can neither resolve their differences nor afford to rupture them, manage the interval between crises.
[W]hen ethics are abandoned for epics, and when political power subverts rational military decision-making, it is not surprising that symptoms of strategic fatigue begin to develop.
Beijing wants to avoid being drawn into a confrontation with Washington while still demonstrating that it has an independent voice on major international crises.