Max Baucus says the new phase of wary ‘constructive stability’ represents a diplomatic holding pattern, not a durable thaw
4-MIN READ4-MINShi JiangtaoPublished: 9:00am, 22 May 2026Former US ambassador to China Max Baucus has described the latest US-China summit as ushering in a new phase of wary “constructive stability”, with both sides focused more on preventing crises rather than building trust or meaningfully resetting their relationship.
But for a relationship long defined by fierce competition and deep mutual distrust, that limited outcome was precisely the point, said Baucus, who served as US envoy to Beijing from 2014 to 2017.
“Two big countries, two different systems, we really do not trust each other,” the former Democratic senator said. “Constructive stability is more crisis prevention … Both sides want to stabilise the relationship, prevent it from getting any worse.”
