India, Dec. 31 -- Beijing and Washington attempted to mend relations between their two countries that had touched a nadir in February when the US shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon. While tensions have eased, with Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping meeting last month in San Francisco, the two powers remain at loggerheads on a wide range of issues on issues like chips exports and the South China Sea. The Biden administration has also identified China as the biggest challenger to US primacy. Still, Beijing has stepped up its conciliatory actions since the meeting as it attempts to stop an exodus in capital, fuelled by tensions with the US and Europe, the nation's slowing economy, and higher interest rates abroad. Already there are signs of improvement. At the beginning of last month, an Australian PM visited Xi in Beijing for the first time since 2016. China restarted in-person trilateral talks with Japan and South Korea after a four-year hiatus. And at COP28, a scene that would be unthinkable elsewhere these days - US and Chinese envoys, smiling and embracing, hailed their friendship as leading the world together in the right direction....