pepe speaks about how the empire got backed into a corner and chose to go clam; 

By Pepe Escobar
Strategic Culture

September 28, 2026

Xi de facto laid the framework for how China and the U.S. should compete on a “win-win” basis.

GUANGZHOU – Chinese President Xi Jinping made the ask directly in the Oval Office. The “deciding mode” President – who’s mulling whether to commit nuclear genocide against Iran, as he revealed in the UN podium – did not say yes.

Xi told Trump directly that China favors an immediate U.S. return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) – yes, the famous dead cat. Negotiations should resume “as soon as

possible,” leading to a comprehensive agreement that includes the nuclear issue.

No breakthrough though. The White House issued no readout of its own. Trump deflected all questions on the substance of his 3-hour meeting with Xi. It’s fascinating how the explosive Iran file was managed out of the summit rather than into it.

In parallel, what we could call the New York channel survived, and might be converging on a phased trade.......more...........