Hate him or love him, it is hard to deny the impact that the election of Donald Trump as president has had on the relationship between the US and China. In the years following his first imposition of tariffs on China, their swift retaliation, and the significant ramping up of the regulatory regime in place to protect US technology and national security, tensions have escalated to never-before-seen levels.

Between the back and forth of tariffs on imported goods, known the world over as the trade war, and the inclusion of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (Firrma) into the Defence Bill in June 2018, it is no surprise that deal flows, investments and trade between the two countries have all slowed significantly.

Data provided by economic research firm Rhodium Group suggested that foreign direct investment (FDI) into the US from China has fallen by as much as 90% since 2016 –...