By Sanxuan
On September 15 Beijing time, at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a reporter from AFP mentioned that President Trump said he had received an invitation from China to visit this year, but he had not made a final decision yet due to differences between the two sides on trade, the fentanyl issue, and other matters. Our spokesperson Lin Jian stated that there is no specific information to provide on this issue, but the communication channels between China and the United States are open.
Photo of Trump's visit to China in 2017
Trump says he wants to visit China
Why is Trump now making noise about visiting China? Because at this time, the China-US economic and trade delegations are holding the fourth round of economic and trade negotiations in Madrid, Spain. According to reports from the front, this round of negotiations will last for two days, and both sides will discuss a series of issues related to economy, trade, and national security. According to convention, the US side will create some false pretexts as bargaining chips in negotiations, and Trump saying he wants to visit China is one of them.
Trump has been hyping up the visit to China for a long time. Since he won the election and returned to the White House, he has periodically mentioned the issue of visiting China, sometimes saying he wants to go, sometimes saying he has received an invitation from China, and even saying that China and the US working together can solve most of the problems in the world, but then he will definitely say that there are still some issues where the two sides differ.
Trump uses the visit to China as a bargaining chip
According to Trump's logic, his willingness to visit China is a honor for China, so China should accept the US conditions, especially the huge trade surplus China has with the US. Then comes the question, will we make concessions on the tariff issue to let Trump visit? The answer is obviously no. From the moment we first imposed equal tariffs on the US, China's position has been clear: if you want to fight, we will be ready to follow through.
Two key time points
As of the latest information, our side has set the bottom line, and the US must cancel the 20% additional tariffs imposed on China over the so-called fentanyl issue, otherwise there will be no discussion. We can continue to increase the counter-tariffs and see which country's economy will face problems first. Also because of the clear Chinese position, Trump has started to actively change on the issue of visiting China. If he cannot go to China, meeting in a third country is also acceptable.
According to sources from the White House, whether China and the US will hold a high-level bilateral meeting depends on two key time points: the 47th ASEAN Summit from October 26 to 28, and the APEC Summit from October 31 to November 1. Trump is likely to attend both summits.
Trump attended the ASEAN Summit during his first term
First, the ASEAN Summit. China has confirmed its participation. This time in Kuala Lumpur, we will focus on building a "community with a shared future in the neighborhood" and enhance communication with ASEAN countries, and also address the South China Sea issue. If Trump himself comes, it is unclear whether he is coming to challenge us or just to meet. However, Malaysia can play a neutral mediator role in this. Trump's predecessor Biden also held a high-level meeting with us at the G20 Summit in Indonesia.
What about America's sincerity?
If Trump does not appear in Kuala Lumpur, he may go to Gyeongju, South Korea, to attend the APEC Summit. According to US media reports, the White House has already proactively contacted China to discuss potential bilateral meetings. However, the feedback from the US was not ideal; it seems that we have no interest in meeting Trump.
Why do I say that? Because after the recent phone call between the Chinese and American defense ministers and foreign ministers, Secretary of State Rubio immediately stirred up trouble over the South China Sea issue, opposing our establishment of a nature reserve in Huangyan Island. In addition, the progress of the China-US economic and trade negotiations has not been smooth, and the US attitude toward China has not changed much compared to before.
Sino-US competition is a long-term process
Even if, as the US media says, Trump is the person in the US government who has the friendliest attitude towards China, by himself alone, he cannot change the overall US government's policy towards China. What we want to say is, if Trump sincerely wants to meet with China, he should show sincerity, be cautious in the core interests of China, and not expect to gain anything from the trade issue. If he can do that, the visit to China can be arranged. If he can't, then whether Trump comes to China or not makes little difference.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7550246808896438824/
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