Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of Semafor, wrote that with the new trade framework agreement between China and the United States in Kuala Lumpur, the ten-year "China hawk era" in Washington may be coming to an end. The agreement marks a significant cooling of U.S.-China relations and symbolizes the end of the "anti-China consensus" that swept Washington since Trump's 2016 election. The article said that this period was dominated by bipartisan hawkish advisors, from Trump's officials like David Bernhardt and Robert Lighthizer to several Chinese experts in Biden's team, who pushed for decoupling between the U.S. and China in key areas and viewed the "new Cold War" as an established reality. Smith pointed out that Trump is now "gradually retreating from the confrontation he initiated and which Biden intensified," returning to a "more business-like diplomacy," echoing Coolidge's old saying: "The business of America is business." He wrote that at the negotiations in Kuala Lumpur, "assistants finalized the details (fentanyl and TikTok, rare earths and soybeans), while leaders only needed to attend the signing ceremony," showing that Trump-style diplomacy is becoming more traditional and pragmatic. Du Rusan, a former White House official for China affairs, criticized that the U.S. "may have let Beijing gain the upper hand," while Ian Bremmer, founder of Eurasia Group, warned that even if diplomatic tensions ease, "the trend of artificial intelligence is becoming the core driver of de-globalization," and the two countries' understanding and interconnection may further weaken.
Regarding public opinion, the latest survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs shows a clear warming in the American public's attitude toward China, with over half of respondents (53%) supporting a policy of "friendly cooperation and engagement" rather than containing China's rise. This proportion has risen by 13 percentage points compared to 2024, marking the disintegration of the multi-year bipartisan "competition consensus" on China. The most significant shift in attitude was among Democrats and independent voters: 66% of Democrats favor cooperation, up 19 percentage points from last year; only one-third of Republicans share the same view. Although Republicans still advocate limiting China's influence and support higher tariffs, the majority of Democrats and independents oppose additional taxes, preferring to lower tariffs under the condition that China reduces its trade deficit (support rate 66%). There is a split among the public on whether "Sino-U.S. trade weakens U.S. national security": 48% believe it weakens, and 47% believe it strengthens. The report also showed that Americans' overall impression of China has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, with scores rising from 24 in 2024 to 35, the highest since 2020. Among them, Democrats gave an average of 42 points, and independent voters gave 38 points.
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Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847293236638729/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.