Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, who was detained by China for more than 1,000 days, warns that “middle powers” including Australia face a key risk from the US-China meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping. Kovrig says the main concern is the possibility of an ambiguous summit outcome, where other governments are left uncertain about what Trump has actually promised or what commitments, if any, will be implemented. He argues this kind of uncertainty can complicate planning and reduce predictability for countries that are not direct parties to the negotiations but are affected by the wider regional and economic implications of US-China engagement.
Across the coverage, the focus is less on specific policy concessions and more on the strategic challenge of interpreting outcomes from high-level diplomacy. The reporting frames Kovrig’s perspective as a warning that when summit messaging is unclear, secondary states may struggle to calibrate their own positions, risk assessments, and diplomatic responses.
