WASHINGTON, Jan 29: During the previous presidential campaign, President Donald Trump asserted he would impose tariffs as high as 60 percent on Chinese imports and hinted at reigniting the trade war he initiated during his first term.
However, now that he has returned to the White House, Trump seems to be cultivating a more complex relationship with China, viewed by both Republicans and Democrats as the most significant foreign policy challenge facing the US.
China remains a crucial trading partner and an economic giant, housing one of the largest militaries globally.
“We look forward to achieving great success with China and fostering a positive relationship,” Trump stated on Thursday at the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, suggesting that Beijing could play a role in resolving the Ukraine conflict and curtailing nuclear armaments.
As he prepares to implement a 25 percent tariff on Canada and Mexico starting February 1, Trump has yet to announce a specific timeline for China. He has only reiterated his position on a much lower, 10 percent tax on Chinese imports as a response to China’s production of fentanyl-related chemicals.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned that Trump is “very much still considering” the imposition of tariffs on China on February 1.
Having spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping shortly before assuming office, Trump appears to be exercising restraint, adapting to a more intricate reality than he suggested during his campaign. Regarding potential tariffs on China in a recent Fox News interview, he remarked: “They don’t want them, and I’d prefer not to implement them.”
Liu Yawei, a senior advisor on China at the Carter Centre in Atlanta, noted that Trump has adopted a “more pragmatic” approach.
“The signals seem to be more positive than previously anticipated from the election to inauguration,” Liu stated. “Ideally, this positive trend can be preserved and extended. A pragmatic, rather than ideological approach, will benefit all parties involved.”
A Chinese scholar specializing in American foreign policy recognized the numerous “uncertainties and unknowns about the future” of US-China relations. Nevertheless, Da Wei, director of the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing, remarked that Trump’s recent shift in tone provides “encouraging signals.”
In his first term, warm relations were followed by a trade war.
When Trump assumed the presidency in 2017, Xi and Trump began on a positive note. Xi was welcomed to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, and a few months later, Trump was given a personal tour of the Palace Museum in Beijing, only to initiate a trade war the following year.
The US-China relationship further deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic and saw little improvement under President Joe Biden’s administration, which included a controversial visit to Taiwan by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the incident involving a Chinese surveillance balloon over US territory.
Biden retained Trump’s tariffs on Chinese products and intensified the economic and technological competition through export controls, investment restrictions, and alliance-building efforts.
Now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s chief diplomat, is tasked with steering a new course for the second term.
During his confirmation hearing, Rubio asserted that China has “lied, cheated, hacked, and stolen” its way to becoming a global superpower “at our expense.” He labeled China “the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever faced.”
Shortly after his swearing-in, Rubio met with foreign ministers from Australia, Japan, and India, signaling his intent to collaborate with the same group of nations that Biden engaged to counter China’s growing influence and assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
Despite being sanctioned by Beijing twice and known for his hawkish stance on the Chinese Communist Party, Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the US should engage with China because “it’s in the interest of global peace and stability.”
In a phone call on Friday, China’s seasoned foreign minister issued a thinly veiled admonition to Rubio, urging him to act responsibly. Wang Yi communicated this message during their first conversation since Rubio’s confirmation.
“I hope you will act accordingly,” Wang instructed Rubio, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, using a phrase often employed by a teacher or supervisor to remind a student or employee of their responsibilities. Rubio committed to handle bilateral relations “in a mature and prudent manner,” as stated by the ministry.
Members of Congress have noted Trump’s seemingly gentler stance towards Beijing.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut, has urged that Trump does not allow China to evade responsibility too easily. She encouraged the president to take immediate action on several measures that have garnered broad bipartisan support, including closing a tariff loophole on low-value packages, reviewing outbound investments, and establishing a domestic industrial policy agenda.
Beijing is looking for chances to create more leeway in its dealings with a US president characterized by his transactional approach. Chinese leaders are wagering on engaging Trump directly, especially when his Cabinet members and advisors seem to have conflicting perspectives.
“Trump is the most important figure among various voices, and he at least has the capacity to set the future policy tone,” Da remarked.
The Tsinghua professor anticipates that Trump and Xi will eventually meet. Effective communication channels, Da emphasized, will be crucial to prevent differences from escalating, as they did during Trump’s initial term.
“The two presidents can establish a solid starting point. That’s vital,” he stated. “However, we must establish mechanisms to facilitate communication among cabinet-level members.”
This may clarify Beijing’s warm overture coinciding with the start of Trump’s second administration. In response to Trump’s invitation for his inauguration, Xi dispatched a special envoy.
Additionally, Beijing has indicated a readiness to be flexible concerning the future of TikTok, which Trump had attempted to ban during his first term. He has now come to TikTok’s aid, extending the timeframe for its Chinese parent company to divest and downplaying the national security risks associated with the app.
After Trump expressed his preference against imposing tariffs on China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry remarked that trade and economic collaboration between the two nations is mutually advantageous.
Nonetheless, Beijing is prepared to adopt a tough stance if necessary, having learned from the experiences of Trump’s first term.
In recent years, Beijing has established laws and protocols that enable it to retaliate swiftly and decisively against any perceived hostile actions from the US.
Available strategies include tariffs, import restrictions, export controls, sanctions, measures restricting companies from operating in China, and regulatory reviews intended to inflict economic pain on American enterprises and the US economy.
Miles Yu, director of the China Centre at the Hudson Institute, commented that Trump is now “more nuanced, and more focused on China.”
“He’s keeping his focus on the goal, which is to maintain US supremacy without courting unnecessary confrontation with China. He’s also entirely ready to walk away from negotiations and play hardball,” Yu concluded. (AP)
