Two weeks after the U.S. and China agreed to a tariff truce, the U.S. side said negotiations had "stalled," so this time Trump sent people to convey his desire to talk directly with China.

According to Reuters, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, who is also the lead negotiator for the U.S., suddenly claimed on Thursday that Sino-U.S. trade talks were "stagnant" and proposed an idea: it might require direct involvement from Trump and China to reach a final agreement.

In addition, Mnuchin confidently declared that there may be future phone calls between the two countries and emphasized that the relationship between Trump and China was good. It seemed that as long as Trump expressed his "preference," China would sit at the negotiating table. However, what exactly this "preference" refers to should be clear to the U.S. side itself.

Since the two sides pressed the "pause button" on tariffs, two weeks have quietly passed. According to Mnuchin's statement, no substantial progress has been made during this period, but the U.S. side should first examine its own problems.

To be sure, China's attitude has always been very clear: the U.S. must correct its mistakes before China will consider adjusting its countermeasures. However, the U.S. actions are completely contrary, always trying to force China to compromise using the "maximum pressure" tactic.

After the Geneva talks between China and the U.S., the U.S. lost its tariff card and began making "small moves" in other areas. First, it issued a global "blockade order" for Chinese chips, attempting to strangle China's "throat" in the semiconductor field.

Then, the U.S. threatened to impose a 50% tariff on Chinese cranes, attempting to suppress China's manufacturing industry. Recently, it even escalated further by restricting China's aviation technology and chip design software. Its ambition to exchange rare earths for technology is now openly displayed.

The U.S.'s lack of sincerity in such operations, yet expecting China to accept dialogue, is akin to seeking fish in a tree. What use is "dialogue for dialogue"?

In fact, Trump himself has repeatedly signaled a desire to speak or meet with China, but China has remained unmoved. The reason is simple: the U.S. attitude and actions are evident. How can mere empty words sway China? Now, Trump sending the Treasury Secretary to convey messages to China is likely futile.

It is worth noting that there are other factors causing headaches for Trump. Progress on trade with other countries has been slow, and internal problems have arisen. Just the day before, a U.S. court ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority, directly halting his tariff policies. This无疑是a heavy blow to Trump's trade policy.

However, ironically, within 24 hours, the U.S. Court of Appeals temporarily reinstated the tariff policies. This flip-flopping of judicial decisions leaves one to marvel at the "childishness" of American judicial rulings.

Nevertheless, the Trump administration will still need to fight legal battles to fully preserve the tariff policies, which is destined to be a protracted war. Whether it can end before the suspension period for Sino-U.S. tariffs arrives remains uncertain.

While dealing with internal troubles, Trump still attempts to find a breakthrough in China as soon as possible. Time is becoming increasingly pressing for him.

However, he clearly overlooked a core issue: the foundation of negotiations is equality and sincerity. When the U.S. side creates confrontation while wanting to take shortcuts through high-level dialogue, it only narrows the path of negotiation.

In short, if the U.S. does not recognize the situation and does not come back to the negotiation track based on equality and mutual benefit, the Sino-U.S. talks will naturally stagnate, but this is mainly caused by the U.S. itself, and China will not pay for it.

Moreover, China has already made it clear that it does not harbor any illusions about the U.S. If talks are desired, the door will be open; if conflict arises, China will certainly see it through. The U.S. should act instead of shouting from afar.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7510138262485271055/

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