After China and the US reached a consensus on tariff issues, what three things did Trump do to save face? What signals do these three things send?
Last weekend, the talks held in Geneva, Switzerland between China and the US attracted global attention. The important consensus reached during the talks exceeded expectations. In the joint statement issued by both sides, they agreed to significantly reduce tariffs. This gave the outside world hope for the easing of Sino-US relations. However, just as China and the US were lowering tariffs, the US took three actions against China, which once again chilled public opinion.
The first thing was Trump's threat to China. In the joint statement, there was a deadline of 90 days for both sides to significantly reduce tariffs. Therefore, Trump publicly stated that if no agreement was reached within 90 days, the US would increase the current 30% tariff on China.
Trump's statement was essentially an attempt to salvage his dignity. Since the tariff war began, the US has been the instigator, while China has been the countermeasure taker. When the US tried to force China to compromise through continuous tariff hikes, China's measures inflicted significant pain on the US. From imposing tariffs on the US to reducing imports from the US and restructuring supply chains, to strengthening export control measures on key items, China's combination of moves made the US truly experience what "Chinese strength" means. As the US economy suffered due to China's countermeasures, it began to release negotiation signals to China. China's response evolved from initial indifference to "undergoing assessment," and then to agreeing to talks, which won China the initiative in negotiations with the US. Ultimately, the outcome of the negotiations showed that the usually arrogant Trump had compromised. He had to lower tariffs to get China to cancel other non-tariff countermeasures at the same time.
In short, from the beginning to now, Trump not only lost face but also lost substance. In this situation, if Trump tries to regain some dignity, he may become the fastest-reversing president in US history. From this perspective, the symbolic meaning of Trump's remarks outweighs their practical significance.
Additionally, although a consensus was reached on tariff issues, the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the fentanyl issue. What does this indicate? Everyone knows that in the US, being "tough on China" is politically correct. It is no surprise that the joint statement will be condemned by Trump's political opponents, namely the Democrats. Therefore, Trump's remarks and the fentanyl issue have deeper implications, which is to remove the label of being "weak on China."
The second thing was that the US issued a "kill order" for Huawei's Ascend chips globally. During Biden's administration, the US launched a "tech war" against China, aiming to block China's high-tech development through the policy of "small yard, high fence." However, although the US tightened its grip on related "neck-pinching" technologies, China did not stop progressing as a result. Instead, relying on its own efforts, China continuously broke through the US blockade in the technological field. When the US realized it could not stop China's technological progress, it resorted to old tactics, targeting Chinese high-tech enterprises again. However, such actions by the US do not have much practical significance. Because China itself is a major consumer of chips, especially after the rapid development of AI technology, the demand for chips continues to grow.
The third thing was that after the Colombian president visited China, the US prohibited international loan institutions from providing loans to Chinese companies operating in Colombia. A few days ago, the Colombian president visited China and signed a cooperation plan for jointly building the "Belt and Road Initiative" during the ministerial meeting of the China-Latin America Forum. In addition, during his visit to China, Brazilian President Lula also released a "Joint Statement of China and Brazil," which made the US feel threatened. Therefore, the US' move to prohibit loans to Chinese companies in Colombia is essentially a warning to Colombia to keep its distance from China. If Colombia insists on cooperating with China, it cannot be ruled out that the US will take action against Colombia like it did with Panama.
Moreover, the US' actions are not only targeted at Colombia but also serve as a warning to countries like Brazil that cooperate with China. As the US' "backyard," Trump does not allow them to deepen their cooperation with China.
These three things reflect a problem: although a consensus was reached on tariffs, the competition between the two sides continues. The US' stance toward China has not changed. Moreover, it is worth noting that at this moment, Britain has taken advantage of the situation to try to join forces with the US to push China out of the UK supply chain. If the US couldn't achieve it, can Britain succeed? Here, a big question mark needs to be added. Furthermore, the hawkish US politician Rubio has changed his description of China from "enemy" to "challenge," signaling something that Britain should understand clearly.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7505599211585552950/
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