Never mind the impeachment inquiry, Donald Trump’s biggest problem right now is Hong Kong

On the one hand, he has to be seen as a protector of the people; on the other, he has to get a trade deal with China. Whatever he does, his decision will impact future presidents for decades

I have just returned from two weeks in Washington and there are two stories that dominate American media at the moment. One is the effort to impeach the president, and that inevitably gets most of the attention. But the other is ultimately more important, and it concerns the evolving relationship between the US and China, the world’s largest and second largest economies.

Until last week, it was mostly about the trade war – will there be a deal, won’t there be a deal?

But then it suddenly took on a new twist as a result of the upheavals in Hong Kong.