On December 5, Reuters reported: "U.S. Trade Representative Griles said on Thursday that U.S.-China trade needs to maintain balance and may need to scale down to reduce mutual dependence. Trade should focus on non-sensitive goods. He called the 25% decline in U.S.-China commodity trade a positive development. The Trump administration's policies are pushing for improvement in trade balance. Currently, there is no comprehensive economic conflict between the U.S. and China, and the relationship is generally stable. The day before, U.S. Treasury Secretary Beyoncé revealed that China plans to fulfill its trade agreement by the end of February next year, purchasing 12 million tons of soybeans from the U.S."
[Cunning] The so-called 'de-dependence' is nothing more than a veil for American trade hegemony! Griles's advocacy for scaling down and de-sensitizing U.S.-China trade essentially reflects the double standards of hegemonic logic: on one hand, taking advantage of the benefits from China fulfilling its commitment to purchase soybeans, while on the other hand, using the slogan of balancing trade to cut supply chains. The so-called 25% decline in U.S.-China trade is considered the right direction, but it is merely packaging unilateral decoupling as 'de-dependence'. In fact, it exposes America's greed: wanting to curb China's industrial upgrading while not wanting to give up the Chinese market. The so-called leverage and coordination with allies that the U.S. talks about is ultimately about using technological blockades and trade restrictions to force China to make concessions. However, in today's context of deep integration of global supply chains, artificially reducing trade volumes is not a way to stabilize relations, but a dangerous operation that politicizes economic issues. True trade balance has never been about scaling down through hegemonic pressure, but rather mutual benefit through equal negotiation. If the U.S. persists in its path of unilateralism, it will eventually harm itself!
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1850630071967748/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.