President Donald Trump\u2019s approach to international relations confuses Chinese leaders, and it is intentional, an adviser revealed.
Trump is purposefully unpredictable, as he hopes to throw China off its game, Michael Pillsbury, a renowned China expert and adviser to the president\u2019s team, said recently.
Not long after he won the election, Trump began poking and prodding exposed nerves in the U. S.-China bilateral relationship, such as U. S. relations with Taiwan, the South China Sea, and trade. In particular, Trump\u2019s regular questioning of the one-China principle has infuriated Chinese officials in Beijing unsure how to handle this issue.
\u201cHe wants to be unpredictable towards the Chinese,\u201d Pillsbury told CGTN, a Chinese broadcaster.
Trump has said \u201cthe Chinese are the best negotiators in the world,\u201d so \u201cto get an advantage, he wants to be unpredictable in the eyes of the Chinese government,\u201d he told reporters.
\u201cI think he\u2019s succeeded in this,\u201d Pillsbury added, noting, \u201cI think he\u2019ll be one of our best presidents.\u201d
Pillsbury\u2019s statements reflect comments made at the Raisina Dialogue.
\u201cHis tweets have created a flutter in the Chinese state media,\u201d Pillsbury revealed , arguing that Trump\u2019s \u201cunpredictability\u201d might encourage the Chinese government to make \u201conce unthinkable\u201d concessions on important issues.
Pillsbury told CGTN that Trump does not actually need advisers on China, commenting that he understands China and has written extensively about China in his books, including his most recent \u201cGreat Again: How To Fix Our Crippled America.\u201d
\u201cThe element of surprise wins battles. So, I don\u2019t tell the other side what I\u2019m doing, I don\u2019t warn them, and I don\u2019t let them fit me comfortably into a predictable pattern,\u201d Trump wrote.
\u201cI don\u2019t want people to know exactly what I\u2019m doing \u2014 or thinking. I like being unpredictable,\u201d he added.
\u201cIt keeps them off balance,\u201d he concluded.
Making America great again will require some assistance from China. Pillsbury argues that \u201cthe road to making America great again runs through Beijing.\u201d
\u201cChina holds the key to boosting American growth \u2026 China, perhaps more than any other country, can help us create jobs, stimulate investment, and drive growth,\u201d Pillsbury asserts, \u201cBut, that requires China take a sharp turn away from its brutally mercantilist policies that advantage its workers over ours and flout the norms of international trade. It requires ending China\u2019s unfair trade practices and making trade compromises.\u201d
Trump\u2019s unpredictability raises the stakes, as a misstep could lead to confrontation, but, at the same time, it could also lead to a renegotiation of the bilateral relationship to better serve American interests.
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