Every American president since Mr Richard Nixon has made a state visit to China, with the sole exception of Mr Jimmy Carter. There’s a good chance that Mr Joe Biden will become the second president not to get the military guard of honour and cannon fire at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Relations with China plummeted to their lowest point in decades during Mr Biden’s tenure, an ironic outcome for the president who prides himself on his extensive foreign policy experience, first as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and then as Mr Barack Obama’s vice-president.