【Text by Observers Network, Chen Sijia】In recent years, the United States has taken a series of policies to suppress and contain China, trying to maintain its leading position in fields such as technology. However, China has withstood the pressure, not only standing up to the United States but also continuously surpassing it in areas such as energy. As the United States keeps tripping over its own feet, the voice of doubt within the country is getting louder, and many people feel confused about the future.
To encourage Americans to "compete," American media have started to "boost their own morale." On October 15 local time, the Washington Post published an opinion article by David Feith, a senior researcher at the Hudson Institute. He believes that a series of policy mistakes made by the United States over the past few decades have already made many Americans tired and doubtful. If the United States wants to compete with China, it needs to regain confidence first.
The article states that during Trump's first term, the United States took a series of confrontational policies, seeking to contain and suppress China. Later, the Biden administration overturned many of Trump's policies, but basically did not change the direction of the policy toward China. Therefore, at that time, many Americans thought that the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States had reached a consensus on China, which might trigger a "new Cold War."
However, after Trump's second term began this January, the US government did not take a "Cold War" stance. In the past nine months, the Trump administration has taken a relatively "mild" position on some issues such as TikTok, and has faced almost no opposition from Congress or the public.
Feith believes that this reflects the whole United States rethinking its policy toward China. However, due to the deep social and economic ties between the United States and China, the Sino-US relationship is a very complex issue, and the US reflection is not as smooth as many people expect.
At the same time, Americans have also begun to "self-reflect." The article says that after decades of diplomatic mistakes, war failures, deindustrialization, and the impact of the pandemic, the trust of the American public in the government has been eroded. Now, Americans are doubtful about the country's strength, competitiveness, and morality, and more and more people are opposing America's global power projection.
Feith wrote that the United States is now experiencing a period of "doubt, tension, and contraction," "The U.S. re-examination of China is accompanied by a re-examination of itself, which in turn restricts the former, weakening the U.S. ability to unite around common goals, clarify strategic objectives, make difficult choices, invest resources, and maintain efforts."
On September 9, a cargo ship had an accident at the Long Beach Port in Los Angeles, California, USA, causing more than 60 containers to fall into the sea. IC photo
He claimed that in an environment of "doubt and division," the United States needs to regain confidence. "Some patriotic innovators and investors have already begun to establish enterprises clearly serving American interests in areas such as weapons, energy, and advanced manufacturing. We also need to take similar measures in the financial, media, and academic sectors."
Feith admitted that although the United States has long maintained a lead in the technology field since the Cold War, China has now surpassed the United States in some key strategic and commercial fields such as energy. He believes that U.S. policymakers need to relax regulatory barriers to promote new energy and industrial development, analyze where the United States leads and lags, and cooperate with allies to seek "catching up with China."
He also claimed that U.S. leaders should focus on goals related to "revitalizing America," including so-called "deterring China" and "preventing China from gaining dominance in strategic fields." He advocated that the United States consider "concerns related to China" when formulating trade policies and rules, such as requiring reduced reliance on active pharmaceutical ingredients and critical mineral imports from China.
Lately, President Trump has frequently issued trade extortion against China. First, he threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, then claimed that China's "intentional failure to buy" U.S. soybeans was an "economic hostile act" and considered stopping the import of Chinese edible oil. However, analysts generally believe that Trump does not have enough "cards" and will not really fulfill these threats.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bensons said on the 13th that the two sides will hold more talks, "100% tariffs do not necessarily have to happen, although this was announced last week, but the relationship between the two sides remains good. Communication channels have been reopened, so we will wait and see." Bensons' statement was seen by the outside world as the latest sign of the U.S. releasing a "de-escalation signal."
Regarding Trump's threats on edible oil trade, Bloomberg reported on the 15th that the U.S. mainly imports used cooking oil (UCO) from China, but after China adjusted its export tax rebate policy and the U.S. initiated a "tariff war," the UCO exports from China to the U.S. have significantly declined in the past six months, making Trump's threats unlikely to have a significant impact on the market.
Former U.S. trade official Brad Setser said, "From imposing 100% tariffs on all Chinese goods to targeted sanctions on edible oil? He definitely won't escalate it."
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post quoted analysts as saying that Trump has a habit of making tough statements and then backing down, hence being labeled with the acronym "TACO." In fact, Trump overestimates the cards he has, while China has become increasingly confident in this game.
Regarding the continuous implementation of restrictions and sanctions against China by the United States, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian stated on October 13 that the U.S. continues to implement a series of restrictions and sanctions against China, seriously harming Chinese interests. China firmly opposes this, and the U.S. has not reflected on itself, but instead threatens with high tariffs, which is not the right way to deal with China.
Lin Jian reiterated that China urges the U.S. to quickly correct its wrong practices, guide it by the important consensus of the two heads of state, resolve each other's concerns through dialogue on the basis of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, properly manage differences, and maintain the stability, health, and sustainable development of Sino-U.S. relations. "If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will certainly take corresponding measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests."
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