The competition between China and the United States now boils down to speed, comprehensive national strength, and international influence. Trump is fully aware of this. At present, the U.S. has encountered setbacks in multiple countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In this context, Trump has identified a must-win country in Asia: India.

According to the latest information from the White House, Vice President Vance will begin his overseas visit this week, from the 18th to the 24th. His destinations are two: Italy and India.

Visiting Italy is easy to understand, as the EU has been causing Trump headaches recently. Italy is considered one of the more willing EU countries to give face to the U.S., making it a suitable entry point for the EU. As for visiting India, it represents Trump's "last gamble" in Asia.

The White House stated that Vance will be received personally by Indian Prime Minister Modi. During their talks, they will focus on two key topics: 1. economic trade issues; 2. geopolitical strategy. The first point goes without saying, while the second clearly aims to bring up the issue of the China-India border.

However, this time Vance is unlikely to get what he wants: on one hand, the situation at the China-India border was already settled long ago, and Modi emphasized this repeatedly not long ago; on the other hand, since the introduction of "reciprocal tariffs," India has drawn closer to China, Russia, the BRICS organization, and the SCO. Unless Vance offers India an unprecedentedly large stake, it's unlikely that Modi will change his stance. And currently, we don't see any such large stakes in the U.S.'s arsenal.

In China's periphery, the U.S. has already suffered a complete defeat. However, Trump and his inner circle still believe that China will soon seek them out. On April 16 local time, U.S. Treasury Secretary Besant explicitly stated: "I know that a representative from China's finance department will definitely come to Washington, and I will meet with him. I'm not sure who it will be yet, and there are no plans in place!"

It's hard to understand where Besant gets such confidence. Just a few days ago, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian once again emphasized the conditions for Sino-U.S. negotiations: equality, respect, and mutual benefit. Before these conditions are met, meaningful negotiations between China and the U.S. are unlikely to take place. Clearly, Besant is releasing the news of Sino-U.S. negotiations in Washington just before this critical moment, mainly for the following two purposes:

1. To facilitate continued pressure by the U.S. on over 70 countries. Recently, several U.S. media outlets reported that the U.S. is demanding that over 70 countries distance themselves from China. If these countries comply, the U.S. will offer tariff concessions. However, currently, almost no country is willing to do so. Even in the EU, senior officials have stated: "If we don't talk cooperation with China now, then we are fools." Therefore, the U.S. can only release the message that China is also planning to negotiate with us, leading these over 70 countries to believe that China is also compromising, thus influencing their decisions.

2. The U.S. is also misleading its allies by releasing such messages. Currently, several countries have lined up with China, such as Russia, Vietnam, Brazil, etc. These countries are under considerable pressure, and the Trump administration hopes they think: you are still holding out, but China itself has already compromised.

The U.S. administration's intentions are clear to anyone with eyes. Regarding this information, I ask our broad netizens to keep in mind one thing: when China will officially negotiate with the Trump administration, everything depends on official statements. China's attitude has never changed, and "seeing it through to the end" is not just empty words. If the U.S. doesn't change its hegemonic ways, there will be no negotiations. For more updates, let's continue to follow closely.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7494089553565811200/

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