【明報專訊】THE Sino‑US trade war is becoming increasingly fierce, with the US increasing tariffs on Chinese goods and China announcing countermeasures and vowing to "fight to the end". As China has set courtesy aside and ratcheted up its rhetoric against the US, talks sprinkled with fights may become the "new norm". Diplomatic talks are volatile. Caution is needed to sort out the facts and guard against misleading superficial observations. The fact that the Sino‑US talks have reached a deadlock at the crucial moment shows Washington wants more than a reduced trade deficit. It is also aiming to restrain China's development, and under no circumstances will Beijing back down. The rise of China means there will be changes to the two‑century‑old world order dominated by the west. But it does not mean a "clash of civilisations" is inevitable. Rather, the problem lies in Washington's increasing tendency to view China's revival from the perspective of the clash of civilisations and even the racist angle of white supremacy. Such narrow‑mindedness will only drive the whole world towards an extremely dangerous situation.