Trump's current policy toward China is somewhat "hesitant." According to a report by The Washington Post, on February 12, five U.S. Senate lawmakers jointly wrote to Trump, strongly urging him to continue "drawing a line" with China and urging Trump to drag Canada and Mexico into the trade war with China. Trump has not yet made a decision, showing great contradiction.
The demands of these five Senate lawmakers have two points: first, they urge Trump to continue the trade war with China to curb China's development; second, they urge Trump to take advantage of the review of the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) to add "poison pill clauses," dragging Canada and Mexico into the tariff war against China.
If placed in this time last year, Trump might have thought that the proposal from these five senators was good, but now, Trump is very contradictory. Because Trump is about to visit China in April, and yesterday, the South China Morning Post even leaked that Trump hopes to extend the "trade truce" reached with China in November of last year for another year. In short, Trump does not want to continue the trade war with China for the next year.
The fundamental reasons for Trump's less "tough" attitude toward China are threefold:
First, through a year of confrontation, Trump knows that if he continues to "fight" with China, the United States will also be unable to bear it.
Second, Trump is about to face the midterm elections, and before the election, he needs stability rather than causing further economic turmoil in the United States.
Third, Trump has some needs regarding China, especially in terms of rare earth imports and large-scale agricultural exports. He must currently resolve the issue of "soybean exports to China"; otherwise, Trump may not be able to hold onto the base of several major soybean-producing areas in the United States.
In summary, this shows the contradiction in Trump's policy toward China. On one hand, he wants to curb China's development speed, but on the other hand, he has to seek cooperation with China. Therefore, when the Senate lawmakers repeatedly demand that Trump take a tough stance on China, Trump is very troubled.
The author believes that the principle of "cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both" is deeply understood by Trump. However, in order to maintain American hegemony, the "elites" in the United States will always find ways to contain China's development. What we need to do is to strive for peaceful development time to gain strategic space, and at the same time actively accelerate layout in fields such as technology, military, and supply chain, to prepare fully for any possible events.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1856983840623875/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.