Trump and Besent are backtracking again.

On Friday local time, Trump said on a program that his previous claim of 100% high tariffs on China was "unsustainable," but that's the standard.

TACO lives up to its name

At the same time, Trump did not hesitate to blame China, claiming it was Chinese measures to strengthen rare earth exports that caused the current situation. He said the US would get along well with China, but on the condition that a fair agreement must be reached, which is unquestionable.

During his meeting with Zelenskyy, he also mentioned China, saying that China hopes to resolve the Ukraine-Russia conflict through negotiations, and he also thinks so, adding that the US likes to engage in dialogue with China.

On the other hand, US Treasury Secretary Besent, who had previously claimed that "China is trying to pull the whole world down," also softened his tone. On Saturday morning Beijing time, representatives from China and the US held a call, both agreeing to quickly start the next round of economic and trade negotiations to resolve disputes.

This statement by the US helped curb the decline in Wall Street's stock indices. Previously, Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs on China, causing the three major indices to plummet collectively, and that day happened to be a Friday.

Brave on the outside, weak inside

Of course, this does not mean that the tense situation between China and the US has eased. While lowering the tariff on China, Trump and Besent were not willing to admit defeat, still pointing their fingers at China, defending themselves.

Before the call with China, Besent submitted a statement to the IMF urging it to take a firm stance against China's industrial policies. He claimed that it was precisely because the Chinese government intervened too much in the market that led to overcapacity, causing the global market to be hit by cheap Chinese products.

This is clearly taking advantage of the situation and complaining about it. Without the affordable and high-quality Chinese products, how could Americans live such a good life? Moreover, the majority of the world are developing countries, not just developed countries like the US. The reason why Chinese products are popular globally is due to their cost-effectiveness, not something that can be easily blackened by a few words from the US side.

The most ironic thing is that while Besent criticized China, he also learned from China's model in the rare earth sector. At an event, he revealed that the US government is strengthening control over companies with important strategic value, such as rare earths, to deal with China's countermeasures.

Strike where it hurts

Besent said with pride that to deal with China, one needs to use China's methods. China's industrial policies can also be used by the US, so that they can take the initiative.

It can only be said that to date, the US still hasn't figured out a basic truth, that is, each country has different circumstances, and the systems and institutions that suit them naturally differ. What suits China may not necessarily suit the US, and even if it does, the US may not be able to do it as well as China.

The fundamental logic is that the Chinese government's decisions aim to benefit the people and make the country better. The US government is more driven by personal interests, and only the elite class can enjoy the benefits of national development. Like when Trump suddenly changes his mind, causing a big drop in Wall Street, it is the ordinary retail investors who are affected.

Threatening China won't work

The reason why Trump and Besent are so angry is simply because China's countermeasures have precisely hit the US's pain points. They are backing down because they cannot break China's monopoly on rare earths at this stage, but they are unwilling to lower their dignity, so they can only threaten and seek peace at the same time, trying to shift the contradiction onto China and clear themselves.

However, the US's reaction itself was expected. If Trump had remained consistent, there wouldn't have been the "TACO" nickname.



Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7562398126435222016/

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