On January 3, then President-elect Donald Trump’s tweet accusing China of “not helping” the U.S. and the international community on North Korea set the stage for a contentious year between Washington and Beijing.

Despite China’s support for international sanctions on North Korean trade, bilateral trade rebounded in 2016. This supports Trump’s assertion and Chinese reluctance to take a more proactive stance on North Korea will further undermine Sino-U.S. relations.

Trump believes that China is taking advantage of the U.S., which Trump perceives as having subverted its interests to those of other