The US and China walked away from their summit with trade deals and no movement on Taiwan, which is calmer for markets in the short run but leaves the biggest flashpoint unresolved.

• Trump and Xi cut a tariff deal and agreed on big Chinese purchases of US coal, with more talks on AI set for November.
• Trump did not repeat Washington's long-standing line on Taiwan, saying only that Xi knows how he feels — a softer tone than usual.
• Taiwan makes most of the world's advanced chips, which is why nobody in the West can let China take it.
• Xi's best shot may have already passed: hitting Taiwan right after Russia invaded Ukraine would have split the West's attention.
• China and the US are too tangled up in trade to truly separate, so both sides keep talking even while calling each other adversaries.

Outlook: An attack on Taiwan looks unlikely while Trump is in office, but Beijing is widely expected to wait for a less confrontational US president.