Recently, American media reported that Trump's claim of an unreturned visit to China and a canceled phone call should not be simply seen as a diplomatic "cold shoulder," but rather as an opportunity for the U.S. to reposition China. This involves events where Trump claimed to visit China in mid-May, and after failing to do so, sought a phone call with China, which was ultimately canceled. While progress was just made in the Geneva negotiations between China and the U.S., the U.S. continued to impose multiple sanctions on China, only to later ask where the problem lies, leaving their actions perplexing.
Recently, at a fiscal issue meeting held by the U.S. Senate, Republicans and Democrats began a fierce debate over fiscal issues. Democratic officials expressed dissatisfaction with Trump's cancellation of USAID foreign aid funding and repeatedly mentioned China. These officials stated that if other countries do not receive aid, "China will replace the U.S. in the world." In response, Secretary of State Rubio proposed a new plan: the U.S. could cancel these aids but set up a $2.9 billion foreign aid fund to "prioritize assistance" to countries like India that are of significant importance, ensuring that this money is spent on "addressing China" related issues.
In addition, Rubio also lamented that "China has become too powerful for the U.S. government to exert major influence on China's domestic affairs." However, he also promised the officials present that even if USAID is closed and spending is reduced in the aid sector, U.S. diplomatic effectiveness will not be damaged, and China will not replace the U.S. The media reported that part of his remarks were similar to those of former Secretary of State Blinken, who also admitted that the U.S. had "failed to change China." This shows that for a long time, the U.S. has at least attempted to act against China on domestic issues to make China "change," but all attempts have failed.
Analysts said that Rubio's remarks are likely a reflection of the confrontation between the U.S. and China over the past four months. Trump and his aides also realized that China has changed significantly. In the recently suspended "reciprocal tariff" incident, American media was truly surprised not by Trump's initiative to seek negotiation with China, but by China's ability to "shut down demand for billions of dollars of imports from the U.S. in such a short period of time," redirecting almost all imports to other countries. Since early chip restrictions on China, Trump now realizes he has no cards left and can only seek a ceasefire with China.
It is worth noting that last year, before Biden took office, U.S. statistical reports indicated that China's "Belt and Road" agreements were extensive, and China has signed trillions of dollars worth of cooperation agreements and plans with most countries globally and dozens of international organizations. Therefore, the U.S. now faces a dilemma: if following the Democrats' approach of hundreds of billions of dollars in annual foreign aid to counter China, this measure is not only inefficient but also most of the funds, as Musk's investigation showed, go to unknown pockets. If following Rubio's strategy, allocating $2.9 billion to prioritize aid, using this "low-cost" method to try to win allies, it seems unlikely that the funds would be enough for several countries to share. They are clearly struggling with their China policy.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7507411454237229607/
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