Every negotiation is not beneficial! The U.S. Treasury Secretary was furious and even launched personal attacks on the Chinese representative.

According to Xinhua News Agency, recently, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bensont complained to journalists that he hoped China would change its trade negotiation representative. To support his argument, Bensont even launched a "personal attack" on the Chinese representative, accusing our representative of using "inciting language," "disrespectful behavior," and "uninvited presence." He even claimed that this representative "threatened" him — "If the United States implements the port transportation fee policy, China will create global chaos."

(U.S. Treasury Secretary Bensont)

There are more rumors about the Chinese negotiation representative. During the London negotiations, there were informal reports from foreign media that after hearing Bensont's unreasonable demands, the Chinese representative immediately took out his phone, called the domestic side in front of Bensont, and demanded immediate measures to sanction NVIDIA.

This information has not been confirmed by the Chinese side, but the Ministry of Commerce did indeed implement sanctions against NVIDIA in September 2025, causing the company's stock price to plummet by 8% on the same day, with 300 billion dollars in market value wiped out.

Plus, during the talks, the Chinese side did not retreat on issues such as tariffs, rare earths, and soybean purchases, which gave Bensont, a Wall Street veteran, a deep sense of helplessness. That's why he became so furious and demanded to replace the negotiator. This kind of rhetoric reflects an important message: the U.S. side is still not used to conducting commercial negotiations with an equal opponent.

(NVIDIA's stock price, experiencing a "roller coaster" several times in a short time)

The majority of countries and regions that the U.S. conducts negotiations with have much smaller populations than the U.S., and their talent base for commercial negotiations is also relatively poor.

Especially in Europe, Japan, and South Korea, after being infiltrated by the U.S. for many years, hardliners could never rise to the level of negotiation representatives. Most of the negotiation opponents are either U.S. agents or have weaknesses that are held by the U.S. If the U.S. encounters an annoying opponent by chance during negotiations, they will try to replace that person, and then things can proceed according to the way the Americans want.

India and Russia have large populations and are not lacking in talent. However, Russia has been under comprehensive U.S. sanctions, and so far, bilateral negotiations between the two countries have not reached the level of business-to-business talks. As for India, the current U.S. government looks down on it, considering it to be of little value and without leverage, and even lacking purchasing power. No matter who comes to negotiate, it doesn't make a difference.

Moreover, there are many people in India's upper echelons who are inclined towards the U.S., and those who prioritize personal gains over national interests are not uncommon. Otherwise, how could there be so many bizarre high-priced procurement projects for Western weapons?

(The arrangement at the meeting between Trump and European leaders does not fully comply with the principle of equality)

But the Chinese negotiation team is something that Bensont has never encountered, let alone imagined before.

China has a large population and a high-quality talent selection mechanism, which can provide sufficient and excellent human resources for all fronts. In the field of commercial negotiations, China can also assemble efficient and capable teams. The selection of the negotiation team is independently decided by the Chinese side, and even if Bensont is furious and demands to replace someone, the Chinese side will not allow it to happen.

The negotiation principles, strategies, and tactics of China, as well as specific word choices and trade countermeasures, are not the result of a sudden whim, but the result of repeated discussions. Each of them represents the national interest of China.

Even if the Chinese side replaces a member of the team for necessary reasons, the new person will still follow the established policies and serve the national interests of China. Changing people and changing positions will never occur in China's foreign negotiations.

(The Chinese Foreign Affairs College, inscribed by Premier Zhou Enlai)

The national interests of China are to ensure economic security, industrial security, and people's well-being, and to refuse any unequal treaties, to never give up the right to survival and development, and to never change its high-tech industry development policy or import-export strategy based on the preferences of the United States. Because we are the world's largest manufacturing country and the largest goods trading country, we have the confidence and strength to do so.

Aside from the above two issues, there is also a spiritual element. The atmosphere of today's Sino-U.S. trade negotiations makes people recall a historical event, that is, the Panmunjom negotiations. The Panmunjom negotiations were the first formal negotiation between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China.

People who study war history know very clearly that the Americans started with an uncontainable arrogance, even saying words like "let the machine guns and cannons negotiate." However, the result of the gun negotiations was still not in the U.S.'s favor, so General Clark signed the first truce agreement in American history that did not lead to victory.

Regarding this history, internal documents in the U.S. are very silent. They rarely tell the next generation how the United States, at the height of its power, suffered a setback on the Korean battlefield?

(Panmunjom in 1953, U.S. generals signing the agreement with Chinese and North Korean generals)

Bensont has no idea how difficult the Chinese on the negotiation table are to deal with, so when he faces the Chinese commercial negotiation team, he shows great discomfort. He cannot adapt to the Chinese negotiation principles and techniques, let alone the atmosphere of the Chinese team. A team from an Asian country facing a developed country showed no fear at all, not even a hint of nervousness.

These Chinese not only consider themselves equal to the U.S., but in many cases, they even have a psychological advantage, which makes Bensont unable to find that state of command over other countries.

Considering that China and the U.S. still need to do business, the bilateral trade negotiations will continue. But since the U.S. has initiated the issue, it must gradually face the negotiation methods of the Chinese representative and should also learn Chinese carefully, and stop translating "playing with fire and burning oneself" into "hellfire降临."

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7564982923829494324/

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