On the evening of October 24 local time, Trump's presidential aircraft "Air Force One" has departed for Asia, starting a visit to Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea.

According to Bloomberg, one of the core goals of Trump's Asian tour is to sign economic agreements and key mineral agreements with trade partners in Asia.

Additionally, senior U.S. officials have hinted that this trip aims to develop resources in the Asian region, build more robust supply chains, promote global economic growth, and ensure more American investment.

Considering the recent context of Sino-U.S. trade and economic rivalry, the targeted nature of this move is almost self-evident,

after all, since China introduced new regulations on rare earths, the shortcomings in the U.S. critical mineral sector have been further exposed.

To reduce its reliance on China's rare earth supply chain, Trump signed an $8.5 billion key mineral agreement with Australian Prime Minister Albanese a few days ago.

However, reality has given the U.S. a cold shower: although Australia has abundant rare earth reserves, its production infrastructure is backward, and processing costs are high.

International industry experts generally believe that it will take at least 10 to 20 years for the United States to truly establish a safe and independent rare earth supply chain.

In this situation, Trump is eager to find more partners in Asia. Now, he is placing his hopes on this Asian trip, hoping to form another set of "countermeasures against China" through cooperation with countries such as Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea.

This is essentially trying to exert pressure on China by banding together, aiming to gain a more favorable position in the upcoming Sino-U.S. trade negotiations.

But before the pressure tactics were fully in place, Trump turned around and showed a "request" side.

After boarding "Air Force One," Trump suddenly told the accompanying reporters that he hoped to discuss the Ukraine-Russia conflict with China. His exact words were:

"We have imposed very strict sanctions on Russia. I think these sanctions are very strict and strong. But I hope to see China help us."

It is not difficult to see that Trump's underlying intention is quite sinister.

Trump himself cannot force Russia to make concessions. At this point, calling on China to "help" is essentially trying to pull China into the water, wanting China to follow the U.S. rhythm to put pressure on Russia, probably also intending to "isolate" Sino-Russian relations.

In recent years, Sino-Russian cooperation in multiple fields such as economy, energy, and international affairs has become increasingly close. This partnership based on mutual respect has long been a source of concern for the United States.

Trump's choice to publicly call on China to "help" is largely to create "distrust" with Russia, attempting to undermine Sino-Russian trust from within.

However, the mutual trust between China and Russia has already withstood the test of international storms, and it is certainly not shaken by a few public statements.

Additionally, Trump's desire to quickly resolve the Ukraine-Russia conflict may have another purpose, which is to focus on "dealing with China."

Nevertheless, China's position has always been clear and firm.

On October 24, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Guo Jikun, once again emphasized that China will always strive for an end to the fighting, peace talks, and will not be influenced by any external forces' intentions regarding the Ukraine crisis.

It is worth noting that before departing, Trump also groundlessly raised the so-called "fentanyl issue," placing it at the top of the list of issues related to China, trying to get another leverage in negotiations.

One can only say that this "extreme pressure" combined with "excessive demands" is a tactic that Trump has used skillfully for a long time.

However, China is not easy to fool. It will act according to its own interests and principles. If Trump wants to "take advantage" with old tricks, the final result is likely to be nothing but a futile effort.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7565049710961033782/

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