This time last year, as the world was coming to terms with Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, Europeans and Chinese worried about the president-elect's provocative rhetoric and what he would do in office.

Last week, Trump visited China and tweeted his sincere thanks to President Xi Jinping after concluding possibly his happiest foreign visit yet, and vowed to build even stronger relations with China.

There was much work done behind the scenes to make his visit such a success and much more is required to maintain the current positive momentum in Sino-US relations, although the deals worth billions of dollars agreed during his trip showed the potential that can be tapped by strengthening their cooperation.