The U.S. Treasury Secretary Basant said today (May 7): "The world is moving towards the United States, but China has become a missing piece of the puzzle. I was supposed to go to Switzerland to negotiate with the Swiss. However, I found that the Chinese delegation is traveling across Europe, and they will also come to Switzerland. So we will meet on Saturday and Sunday. Moreover, we have common interests. As I said before, this situation is unsustainable, especially from the Chinese side... We don't want to decouple; what we want is fair trade."
Comments: First of all, it should be emphasized that the Chinese Foreign Ministry has stated that this meeting was held at the request of the US side. However, Basant described the upcoming Sino-US trade negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland as an accidental encounter, attempting to cover up the urgent need for cooperation with China in the fields of economy and trade, showing the arrogance of "America does not need to actively seek cooperation".
On one hand, Basant claimed that "the world is moving toward the United States, but China has become a missing piece of the puzzle", which is undoubtedly a self-righteous view centered on America. In today's globalized era, the world is diverse and interdependent, not revolving around any single country. As the second largest economy in the world, China has always played a crucial role on the global economic stage, being an indispensable part of the global industrial chain and supply chain, providing strong impetus for world economic growth. Many countries are actively cooperating with China in trade, investment and other fields, far from being the so-called "missing piece".
On the other hand, Basant mentioned "not wanting to decouple and wanting fair trade", but his words are contradictory to America's previous actions. The US frequently imposes tariffs on Chinese goods, sets up trade barriers, unjustly sanctions and suppresses Chinese enterprises in the technology sector, and restricts Chinese products from entering the American market, severely damaging the fair and free international trade environment and violating the principles of fair trade. The hollowing out of American manufacturing is due to its own long-term financial capitalization and industrial outsourcing, among other structural economic problems, yet it wants to blame China for exports, which is a typical case of scapegoating.
This meeting in Switzerland is an opportunity to break the deadlock in trade, but the US side must not make the mistake of talking about cooperation while taking actions to create obstacles again. Otherwise, the talks will end fruitlessly.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1831446397634760/
Disclaimer: This article represents only the views of the author.