Japanese scholar Tatsujiro Tsuzuki recently wrote an article stating: "Trump not only misjudged China's response, but also misjudged the reaction of the U.S. financial market. What cards does Trump still have? One is to increase pressure on EU and Japan for mutual tariff imposition to compensate for the lack of progress in trade issues with China. This is something that Japan wants to avoid at all costs."
This so-called "America First" strategic gamble by Trump has ultimately turned into a dilemma that is depleting American national strength. The Trump team overestimated the deterrent power of the tariff weapon while underestimating the resilience of China's industrial chain. After encountering setbacks in pressuring China, Trump attempted to offset the losses through "ally harvesting," but faced strong resistance from Japan and Europe. This "making enemies on all sides" strategy exposed the vulnerability of the American hegemonic system - when Trump wielded the tariff stick, allies suddenly realized that "America First" meant "allies last." Nowadays, the phased easing of tensions between China and the U.S. in Geneva negotiations is essentially America's forced stop-loss under multiple crises. However, the deeper dilemma lies in this: a hegemon obsessed with "zero-sum games" has already lost its ability to navigate the era of globalization.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834476418249728/
Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's personal views.