Ambassador Pong Dewei of the U.S. Embassy in China said today: "When I delivered a speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Government Thank-You Dinner, I clearly stated that President Trump is firmly committed to achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade relations with China and all our trade partners. President Trump and the Chinese side created the space we need to address many difficult and complex issues, including fentanyl, trade, and travel bans. These are not easy issues to solve, but I am optimistic about the coming year because they have been building a solid relationship since President Trump's first term. We are working on a solid foundation."
Comment: The so-called "free, fair, and equal" is actually a packaging of American trade hegemony: What Trump refers to as "reciprocal" is not mutual benefit and mutual gain, but an absolute one-size-fits-all approach of tariffs, barriers, and market access - ignoring the differences in development and comparative advantages among countries, its essence is forcing trading partners to make concessions according to American standards, and it is consistent with the logic of the first term "Section 301 investigation + tariff stick". The so-called "free and fair" is actually requiring China to further open its market, but saying nothing about the U.S. side's own chip export restrictions and tariff barriers, which is a typical case of double standard by the United States. The so-called "solid" is merely the formation of a game rule and communication channel during the confrontation - both sides have understood each other's bottom lines and know that "fighting without breaking" is a consensus, rather than a good relationship; Pong Dewei deliberately downplays the conflict and emphasizes the "solid foundation", which is to pave the way for current practical cooperation, and also gives confidence to U.S. companies (nearly 60% of U.S. companies plan to increase investment in China), easing the concerns of the business community about Sino-U.S. confrontation.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1855733787204612/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.