Nepal, Aug. 8 -- Will President Donald Trump give his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping a gift? While Trump prizes unpredictability, Xi aims to position China as a force for global stability. Thus, there is a widespread assumption that China will rush to fill the vacuum left by an increasingly nationalist and isolationist United States.

The Chinese leadership has no interest in filling America's shoes. Attempting to do so could cost China dearly just when it is undertaking a broader economic reorientation at home. The world may be tired of US interventionism - and, now, of Trumpian aggression - but that does not mean it is ready to welcome an abstemious superpower.

China has studiously avoided becoming involved in major crises beyond its ...