Always a good idea to have someone on staff that have experience/ understanding of China. Trump does not, Mattis and McMaster both have Mideast backgrounds, and Tillerson never sold oil to China. Competence in administration is knowing who is needed at the right time and place. Obviously missing in current leadership.
China is currently so complex and developing so quickly it requires constant deep understanding and steady analysis. All the tropes the "casual" China specialist likes to toss out "they just produce junk for Walmart", "they artificially devalue their currency", "slave labour factories", "inability to innovate" "China is a polluted dystopia" etc...Are years if not decades out of date. China is producing innovative cars and airliners smartphones and commercial space technology. The air quality in major Chinese cities has improved dramatically over the last decade and continues to get better with a government firmly focused on that goal. China is now a center for innovation with more patents filed than any country on the planet. It is a global leader in green technology, the world's fastest super computers, digital payments systems, the sharing economy and things as seemingly esoteric - but let me tell you they'll impact your life -- as the capacity to teleport (yes teleport) a subatomic particle into outer space. (They did that last month.) Add to this the "One Belt One Road" initiative, the Asian infrastructure Develoment Bank and an economy still growing at more than 5% a year. All of this in the face of the tone deaf national interests blind analysis from Western "experts" who have been predicting, no - hoping for -"widespread social unrest" and the "imminent" collapse of China "any day now" for the last 30 years. You better believe you need some experts in place.
2
You say, "That lack of a guiding hand has contributed to the administration’s dissonant signals toward Beijing. Two months ago, Mr. Ross tried to negotiate a deal with China on steel exports, only to be publicly rebuffed by Mr. Trump. On Sunday, the Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, threatened to cut off trade with any country that does business with North Korea — an unsubtle, and impractical, warning to its main trading partner, China."
Maybe some "dissonance," "rebuffing," and "unsubtle" is what we need in our dealings with China at this point? After all, on just about every front -- playing games with many of our companies, especially tech firms, trying to do business there, or creating regional instabilities and threats with just about every country around them, or operating under a political and governance system that is both opaque and corrupt -- China does not seem to remotely take US interests into account in anything that they do.
Frankly, our vaunted foreign policy and geopolitical 'experts' have amounted to a hill of beans when it comes to China. Perhaps time to substitute consistency with unsubtlety, and carrot with stick?
Maybe some "dissonance," "rebuffing," and "unsubtle" is what we need in our dealings with China at this point? After all, on just about every front -- playing games with many of our companies, especially tech firms, trying to do business there, or creating regional instabilities and threats with just about every country around them, or operating under a political and governance system that is both opaque and corrupt -- China does not seem to remotely take US interests into account in anything that they do.
Frankly, our vaunted foreign policy and geopolitical 'experts' have amounted to a hill of beans when it comes to China. Perhaps time to substitute consistency with unsubtlety, and carrot with stick?
These partnerships and deals are extremely complicated. Trump makes decisions based on his gut and Fox News. This has disastrous implications for the U.S. and much of the world. He is simply not up to the task.
3
"Previous administrations have had a decisive point man on China".
Right.
And that worked out so very well for America.
All of those "decisive point men" of previous administrations got played by the Chinese. Every. Single. Time.
And that's why we're in the predicament we're in, economically and geopolitically.
And now everyone's hair is on fire because Trump isn't using the same playbook that has utterly failed us for the entire 21st century.
It's surreal.
Right.
And that worked out so very well for America.
All of those "decisive point men" of previous administrations got played by the Chinese. Every. Single. Time.
And that's why we're in the predicament we're in, economically and geopolitically.
And now everyone's hair is on fire because Trump isn't using the same playbook that has utterly failed us for the entire 21st century.
It's surreal.
1
Trump and his administration are ruining our country. It is like a woodpecker pecking holes into the sides of houses allowing the rain to come in.
2
Is the lack of expertise a surprise? If so we weren't paying attention at all during Senate confirmation hearings. Trump nominated incompetent clowns, with loyalty the prime selection criterion, and the Republican Senate gave lip service to the business of approving them and then approved nearly all of them.
Unfortunately, with Trump's fiery temper, any competent nominees would be gone by now anyway. But Trump supporters think he is doing a great job.
Unfortunately, with Trump's fiery temper, any competent nominees would be gone by now anyway. But Trump supporters think he is doing a great job.
3
I'll wager the entire Trump team doesn't know 10 words in Mandarin and has a combined total of less than 20 nights on the mainland. Influencing the Chinese is hopeless without an understanding of Chinese culture, history, language and politics.
2
and BRICS moves in swiftly.
I recall that during the Iran-Contra mess,Reagan or his brilliant surrogate,Oliver North, took a cake in the shape of a key to Iranian leaders.This was North's version of diplomacy.Perhaps Tillerson should take another chocolate cake in the shape of Trump and present it to Xi Jinping.This sort of diplomacy seems to be all this bunch dangerous clowns seems capable of carrying out.
3
no guiding hand! - lumpy is in full control - the fullest control ever - big big things in store for everyone big big.
4
This debacle could end up being more dangerous to us than North Korea.
2
the world has to end sometime - it appears that Beelzebub is now here to start the proceedings.
3
Korea may well be the straw which breaks the camel's back.
No mention of his nominee for ambassador to China, present governor of Iowa Branstad? What's taking so long to get him there?
1
Trump's thoughts, such as they are, just seem to rattle round randomly in his head like within the limited dimensions of a pinball machine.
He is no more capable of dealing with policy toward China, North Korea or saving his Mar a Largo from flooding.
He will however, make sure that Mar gets first dibs on outside help.
He is no more capable of dealing with policy toward China, North Korea or saving his Mar a Largo from flooding.
He will however, make sure that Mar gets first dibs on outside help.
12
Trump is GOP and GOP is Trump. We should be terrified.
2
China and Russia play chess while Trump plays tiddly-winks, flipping twitter bombs randomly, mostly at, what used to be U.S. allies and friends. I say "used to be" because most of our allies and friends are, at best, bemused by Trump, and, at worst, aghast at the thought of what he might do next.
He may have once been considered a "useful idiot," but that little adjective "useful" is no longer applicable.
He may have once been considered a "useful idiot," but that little adjective "useful" is no longer applicable.
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