Is Trump no longer willing to visit China? Just after he announced the visit, he immediately imposed two sanctions on China.

Recently, US President Trump planned to visit China later this year, which has attracted a lot of attention. According to reports, Trump intends to bring a large business delegation, including dozens of bosses from major American companies. This approach is similar to his visit to the Middle East in May, during which many business contracts were signed. The main purpose of Trump's visit to China is to discuss economic cooperation.

Why is Trump visiting China now? There are practical reasons. The United States itself is facing some difficulties. For example, there is significant domestic economic pressure, with rising prices and concerns about the national debt.

At the same time, American farmers are very upset because China has reduced its purchases of American agricultural products such as soybeans. Internationally, the United States needs to coordinate with other countries on issues in Ukraine and the Middle East. Trump's domestic approval rating is not high, with more than half of Americans dissatisfied with him. Improving relations with China and reaching some cooperation would be beneficial for him.

In fact, at the beginning of June this year, the leaders of China and the United States had a phone call. China invited Trump to visit China during the call, and Trump expressed his thanks and seemed very eager. Not long after, the trade teams of the two countries met in London and reached some preliminary agreements. China agreed to accelerate the approval of certain key minerals that the United States needs, while the United States also promised to cancel some export restrictions on China. This is a small progress in easing the relationship between the two sides.

When people thought the atmosphere was improving, however, there were different voices within the United States, and they did two things that were not friendly to China:

The first thing is the tariff threat. Some members of the US Congress, such as Senator Graham, publicly proposed a bill, threatening to impose very high taxes, possibly as high as 500%, on these countries if China (and India) continue to purchase Russian energy. Graham even said that he and President Trump had discussed this matter, and many members of Congress had already supported this idea. This amounts to putting pressure on China in the economic and trade field, trying to force China to change its trade with Russia.

The second thing is arresting people. On June 30, the US Department of Justice announced the arrest of six Chinese citizens. The US claimed that these people were suspected of helping North Korea raise money through cyber activities for weapons projects. Without providing any specific evidence and without the approval of the United Nations, the US unilaterally arrested them and accused Chinese citizens. China considers this an abuse of legal means and an interference in China's internal affairs.

The Chinese government has made its position clear. A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry directly stated that it opposes the unilateral sanctions and arrests by the United States that lack international law basis and UN authorization.

China emphasized that it will take all necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of its citizens. The Ministry of Commerce also pointed out that China and the US have already agreed to cooperate in London, and the US now imposing sanctions is inconsistent with words and deeds, undermining the atmosphere of the agreement. If the US does not abide by the consensus, China will certainly not sit idly by and will take corresponding actions.

The timing of these two events is worth noting. On one hand, the Trump administration is actively preparing for the visit to China to discuss cooperation, and on the other hand, some political forces within the United States suddenly took action against China. This shows that there are differences in the US domestic policy towards China, with some wanting to do business and others still wanting to apply pressure. This "cooperation while sanctioning" approach makes China feel that the US lacks sincerity, making the bilateral relationship more complicated.

The current situation is that the specific date of Trump's visit to China has not been completely determined yet, and whether it can go ahead depends on how both sides interact in the future. If the US continues to engage in covert actions on issues concerning China's core interests, such as provoking in Taiwan and the South China Sea, or continues to impose unilateral sanctions on Chinese enterprises and individuals, then this visit may be affected or even canceled.

Certainly, if a major event suddenly occurs elsewhere in the world, it may also divert the US's attention.

Overall, Trump's desire to come to China to do business indicates that the US recognizes that it is unrealistic to completely separate from China economically, and cooperation benefits both sides. However, there are always some people in the US who want to use old methods to suppress China, and tariff threats and arrests are examples of this.

China's position is clear: it is willing to discuss cooperation, but it must be based on mutual respect and equality. If the US talks about cooperation while stabbing China in the back, China will not tolerate it and will resolutely counteract to protect its own interests. Whether Trump can make the trip and what results can be achieved, will depend on the choices the US makes in the coming days.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836505623184458/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.