U. S. President Donald Trump has shown a penchant for trying to bully America’s trading partners into concessions at the negotiating table. In China, he faces a rising superpower with the economic might to hold its own.
U. S. President Donald Trump has shown a penchant for trying to bully America’s trading partners into concessions at the negotiating table. In China, he faces a rising superpower with the economic might to hold its own.
In his second year as president, Trump has moved to deliver on election promises to crack down on countries he accuses of unfair trade practices. The U. S. has imposed tariffs on steel imports, renegotiated its trade deal with South Korea and proposed sweeping duties on Chinese products. The hawkish turn has raised concerns among investors of an escalating trade war that undermines the broadest global growth in years.
Yet Trump’s record so far suggests he could be using the specter of tariffs against China just to gain leverage — a strategy outlined in the 1987 book he wrote with journalist Tony Schwartz, “The Art of the Deal.” In his first big trade moves, the president has made bold threats, only to back down and accept more modest concessions.
The question is how Chinese President Xi Jinping, who can afford neither a destabilizing drop in trade nor an embarrassment on the world stage, responds. Xi’s speech Tuesday at an economic conference in the tropical Chinese city of Boao may shed some light on his plans.
“China must be operating on the expectation that Trump eventually wants to cut a deal, and that he’ll give in first,” said Scott Kennedy, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “They must feel that the Trump administration just doesn’t have a lot of staying power.” Bark, Bite
While Trump’s tactics are well known, his willingness to repeatedly raise the stakes against China has rattled markets and he said Friday he was prepared to accept “a little pain” to get a better deal. Trump has asked China to reduce its trade surplus with the U. S. by $100 billion and directed the Treasury Department to draft new restrictions on Chinese investment, particularly in high-technology sectors.
