US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s weekend visit to Singapore generated fewer headlines than the landmark meeting in June with Kim Jong Un, but it was significant as the Trump team faces questions over the scale of its strategic ambition in Asia-Pacific against that of China.

The new Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who meets US President Donald Trump on Monday at the White House, is already emerging as Trump’s strongest supporter in Western Europe with speculation over a potential populist Washington-Rome axis underpinned by disruptive diplomacy.