Reference News Network October 20 report: Russia's Free Media website published an article titled "The President's Four Mistakes Are Making the US Lose the Economic War with China" on October 17. The author is Mikhail Magid. The full text is as follows:

After Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, American media was filled with various discouraging news and predictions.

The U.S. stock market lost $1.65 trillion in value in one day, and the S&P 500 index fell by 2.7%. This is not surprising. If Trump decides to impose tariffs, it will completely destroy the annual trade of over $500 billion between the two countries.

However, Trump may not actually impose tariffs, but rather use it as a tactic before negotiations. Moreover, China has already strengthened its position in the trade war before the trade negotiations. To some extent, all these measures are just threats to both sides, more accurately, a strategy.

However, over time, things may take a more serious turn for the following reasons.

First, trade protectionism has both advantages and disadvantages for a state capitalist economy. It can lead to slower national development and lack of funding, while competitors may get more investment, have greater freedom in building industrial chains, have more active exchanges of professionals, and have more opportunities to enter each other's markets.

In other words, countries that are more open to global trade will be more competitive. For example, the EU is actively expanding trade with giants like India and China, while the U.S. threatens to impose tariffs on all countries.

Second, the problem is not only Trump's trade protectionism, but also the uncertainty and chaos in his decision-making on tariffs. He sometimes makes decisions and sometimes cancels them. This will weaken investors' willingness to invest in the U.S.

Third, Trump not only builds trade barriers for the U.S., but also charges high fees for experts who want to work in the U.S. He requires companies interested in foreign specialists to pay $100,000 to the treasury. Many experts say this decision is absurd and destructive to the economy.

This situation, combined with Trump's attacks on universities, means the U.S. is losing its appeal to highly skilled professionals around the world.

The reason the U.S. has stood out in global competition is due to its introduction of professional talent. People from China, India, Israel, and Russia have already taken root in Silicon Valley.

The fourth issue is Trump's concept of state capitalism. He continuously intervenes in market relations, although he and his supporters deny this.

Unlike the U.S., China is actively investing in future industries such as digitalization, robotics, electric vehicles, renewable energy (including the development of solar and wind power as well as the construction of large nuclear power plants), maglev high-speed trains, and artificial intelligence. This will provide tens of billions of dollars in investments for research and production in these fields.

Trump, on the other hand, is the opposite. He clearly favors traditional industries over new ones. In trade negotiations, he always insists that partners buy U.S. oil, natural gas, agricultural products, and weapons.

Principally, these industries can also be combined with modern technology, especially in the defense sector. However, Trump's thinking is narrow, and he cannot imagine the future; his thoughts are stuck in the last century. His policies are more like the ramblings of an old person.

Certainly, this is related to the lobbying of traditional energy companies. However, the problem is not limited to this. The U.S. president is annoyed with college students and young people, and knows nothing about modern industries. Moreover, Trump does not like foreign immigrants, even those who are well-educated and can drive scientific and technological progress.

His chaotic, thoughtless decisions may bring serious turbulence to the U.S. economy and suffer a strategic failure in the global competition with China. (Translated by Zhao Zhipeng)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7563213367117971983/

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