The Mar-a-Lago honeymoon is over as White House win on beef is overshadowed by other moves.
BEIJING — Call it President Trump’s hamburger diplomacy.
On Friday, U. S. Ambassador Terry Branstad, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and a clutch of American cattlemen in 10-gallon hats gathered at a chic hotel in Beijing to sip champagne and celebrate the return of American beef after 14 years.
The cubes of U. S. cattle were the product of the 100-day plan negotiated when Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April. Trump’s message then was: You help us rein in North Korea, and the rest is on the table in trade talks.
But the message is changing — and so is the mood.
Just hours before the ceremonial return of U. S. beef, the White House announced two moves that could spoil the U. S.-China party: the latest round of arms sales to Taiwan and fresh sanctions on North Korea that target a Chinese bank.
China quickly denounced the Taiwan weapons deal as a slap at Beijing’s sovereignty. China also framed the sanctions as disruptive overreach by Washington.
Both moves show the Trump administration coming to terms with the challenges of getting China to tighten the screws on its client state North Korea, where the regime of Kim Jung Un depends on Beijing as its lifeline.
As Trump tweeted June 21: “It has not worked out.”
Clearly, Trump is frustrated. And so now are the Chinese.
At a news briefing Friday, Lu Kang, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said Beijing has launched “solemn representations” with the U. S. side over the arms sale. He also spoke out about the sanctions, warning of consequences to U. S.-China ties.
» [The] U. S. wrong moves go against the consensus achieved at Mar-a-Lago, ” he said.
A statement by the Chinese Embassy in Washington said: “the Chinese government and Chinese people have every right to be outraged, ” over Taiwan.
The island has received U. S. arms for more than three decades, but the current Chinese outrage appeared amplified by feelings that Trump might have taken a difference course after his talks with Xi.
