Breakdown in US-China relations raises spectre of new cold war

For decades, no matter how relations between Beijing and Washington waxed and waned, trade and investment provided the glue that kept the two powers together. Today, with economic relations between the two careening off the rails, China and the U.S. are headed toward what could be a Cold War that extends beyond trade—to deepening conflict or even military tension as both seek to form their own blocs. The current scenario was once unthinkable. During President Trump's first presidency, Washington and Beijing were both reluctant to throw their deep entanglements into complete disarray. Their first trade war played out over two…