New Delhi, Nov. 12 -- Late last month, in Busan, South Korea, the leaders of the two largest economies in the world met face-to-face and both came away smiling. After months of escalating and tit-for-tat tariffs, the two sides achieved what is being called a detente, a pause in hostilities. "The deal with China is going to be wonderful," US President Donald Trump said. "It's going to be long lasting."

Evoking comparison with a long and stable marriage, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, "frictions now and then are normal.China's development and rejuvenation are not incompatible with President Trump's goal of Making America Great Again."

All this happy talk is the usual doublespeak and hypocrisy of politics, of course, except in this cas...