"very complicated issues"...those words with Trump mean a disaster!
2
Trump's heavy-handed approach of using a stick before trying a carrot tends to entrench his opposition, with China and other countries no less than with Congress.
I'm really tired of seeing this naked emperor messing with things.
5
@Barbara Trump is a terrible 'negotiator'. He has painted himself into a corner with China.
1
What does the US need, a trade deal with China that protects US intellectual property, gets supply chains for critical national security items out of China, helps the US manufacturing sector and makes trade more reciprocal, or, a "win" such has been delivered by past administrations that has led and kept the US in this lose, lose situation?
1
Want a free win? Lift the steel and aluminum tariffs on allies and watch the economy jump while international partnerships increase to prior levels.
1
As soon as the words “Larry Kudlow” appeared in this article, I stopped reading.
4
Maybe if the US can find a BALANCED way to work with China, it will benefit both countries and the rest of the world
2
The art of the deal by president Trump was to sign unwillingly without the "Wall" money to reopen the government. With government in function, the Justice Department can request the Canadian government to extradite Ms. Meng of Huawei to US for trial. After this is done and with a good bargaining chip in hand, the whole episode will ensure president Trump will get a good trade deal from China. Of course 3 weeks later, the government will be shut down again for "Wall" funding. A pretty slick strategy for trade negotiation.
Trump's self indulgence and lack of any skills except self promotion have been the earthquake the global community won't recover from for years to come. If not for his father's money, Trump would be a low end pauper instead of a high end one. If not for the vision of Ivana Trump, Trump would, still, be managing his father's complexes and finding new ways to exclude people based on race and ethnicity. Donald J. Trump claims to be a billionaire but refuses to show America the books which, I'm sure, would reveal he is a debt ridden loser with few if any assets of his own. Those who go out of their way to denigrate others, as Trump does, are covering for their insecurities and failures.
7
Trump has fired only pellets across the bow of SS China Trade Deficit in his enactment of tariffs, which is a hidden tax on all of us. That pellet may have some effect on trade negotiations, but, I believe the Chinese to be the better negotiators, not to forget the pressure that U.S. companies will place on the chaotic administration as their profits dwindle due to the hidden tax.
Trump has shown the world that his grand skills, as he claims, are not as grand as he would have others believe. And I do not believe the negotiators he has appointed have much freedom to act. This will result in not much to see other than another tweet bragging about the great success that didn't happen.
3
What we have here is an impoverished nation 40 years ago now being the second largest economy of the world. China did not get here by being gullible. There has always been a plan, whether corrupt or underhanded.....there has always been a plan. Trump's administration needs results NOW to prove their accomplishments (although I'm not really sure what they are?). President Xi has time on his side while bringing more and more Chinese into the middle class and an economy still growing at 6%. Being the greatest military power in the nuclear age has it's limitations as does having a bumbling president and administration.
1
Get real. Trump cannot do anything that seriously disrupts the US economy and/or produces a market crash because of domestic political considerations. The Chinese are very well aware of this dynamic. Trump might get some minor concessions as he did with NAFTA and then claim a huge victory. All baloney as usual.
3
My mother was the oldest of what would be ten children when she and her parents arrived in NYC more than 100 years ago with little more than hope and the clothes on their backs. My family eventually landed in Queens and I went to engineering school in Manhattan. After I graduated I joined the Peace Corps (I loved JFK) and was sent to Ecuador to build schools. I loved Ecuador and learning Spanish, but I hated building schools. When I came back to the USA, I decided to learn Chinese to see whether foreign languages suited me. Yes! I discovered that Chinese was very easy to speak, a bit hard to read, and quite difficult to write. But I loved the language. My mother and grandmother were happy that I found something I loved.
Since then I've been to almost every part of China except the south-west, and I've made many good Chinese friends. I've learned that English is much more difficult to speak than is Chinese, but much easier to read and write. And I've realized that loyalty and truthfulness are very important to the Chinese. If a Chinese person sees you as incapable of loyalty and truthfulness, there will be no relationship.
Our current president has a hard time being loyal to anyone and doesn't have the gene needed to be truthful. The "trade talks" will not turn out well for us, thanks to Mr. Trump!
5
The Chinese know how to build great walls. Undoubtedly they would agree to build one and share the timeless technology that enthralls the president. As a bonus, their expertise extends to securing favorable labor arrangements.
1
And again the elephant is trying to trample down a perceived enemy he does not understand.
Chinese business is based on long term planning, that is decades and not until the next Tweet, while the US believes that getting a quick commission for their own private pockets will do.
There is not enough popcorn in the world that one would need to watch from a first row seat the US fail again and again.
Trump and his cronies will long be gone and in jail while China will still come out of this a winner.
Contrary to Trumps understanding, trade wars are NOT easy to win when your enemy is that much bigger and way more wealthy and skilled than you are.
14
Maybe not today, and maybe not for a few more years, but the day is rapidly coming when it will be China’s world. Most Americans have no clue that they are being left in the dust by a country that is bigger, and has an institutionally driven, laser like focus on its goals. China has a long term strategy; America’s planning timeline is what? A year? A president’s term? You may win this trade battle but the larger ‘war’ is being lost.
Consider infrastructure: America’s is crumbling, rusting out and is like what you would expect in Africa in many place (take a NYC subway if you doubt me). Meanwhile, China has built an entire high speed rail system that dwarfs America’s pathetic efforts in a few short years.
America spends obscene amounts of money on its military but has not achieve any meaningful victory anywhere since WWII. Meanwhile, Russia messes with your elections, attacks its neighbors and you can do nothing. Why? Because the Russians have a robust nuclear deterrent.
Someday soon America will be to China as Russia is now to the US. Your nukes will protect your homeland, but your allies will be in the wind.
What kills me is that Trump is accelerating this transformation, which is highly destabilizing, and carries the seeds of a real war in the Pacific. Given your ‘success’ at winning wars over the last 74 years, you might want to avoid that outcome.
18
Just imagine...
- a trade deal that stops China's cheating
- comprehensive immigration reform
- denuclearization of the Korean peninsula
- a Middle East peace agreement
Trump is addressing issues that other presidents have been unsuccessful in trying to solve for decades. Longshots to be sure, but the critics on these pages seen to be rooting for his failure. I, for one, wish him good luck.
2
@Pragmatist In CT
Trump isn't now, nor has he ever been, a " deal maker". You're confusing him with the character he played on TV.
5
@Pragmatist In CT This is the great fallacy that too many people fall into and erroneously believe that Trump is actually trying to solve a problem. Like every con man, Trump accurately zeroes in on issues likely to garner attention and fervor. He catapults himself into the limelight by claiming great wealth and skill causing "believers" to blindly follow him. No matter how many failures he racks up, the "believers" continue their "faith" and say to themselves, "at least he's trying". Guess what Pragmatist, he's not trying. He offers the illusion of "trying", but that's part of the con to keep you in his camp while he continues the non stop looting.
When his failures become blatant like the shutdown, he blames it on whatever Pragmatist and others like Pragmatist will believe.
Pragmatist needs to read the list of criminal charges being prepared by the S. District of New York to fully understand the gravity of his/her mistaken confidence. Those of us who followed Trump's nefarious career recognized the con from the get-go.
3
@Pragmatist In CT We are not "rooting for his failure". We are only facing the reality that what may be negotiated will be nothing more than eyewash for the adoring masses and bragging rights for the grifter.
There will be no huge successes.
3
The thing is this; tariffs/trade war will fail because Trump is only looking for a 'win.' So he may sign onto anything that make hims look like like a winner among his base. Especially after just caving in to Pelosi last week while being politically bruised in the process.
6
@damon walton
Especially given his short attention span, going for a win will have doubtful results.
3
Trump yesterday: “Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.”
Trump today: Nobody knew that trade tariffs could be so complicated.
Trump tomorrow: Nobody knew that securing intellectual property protection for American companies could be so complicated.
And Ross saying the United States and China are “miles and miles” apart is a gross understatement. Try worlds apart!
The zero sum trade war is already starting to strangely remind one of another failed Brexit stalemate where nobody can agree on anything. And you can bet the can gets kicked down the road again because those “very complicated issues” that Mnuchin mentions do not have anything to do with tariffs, but perhaps more importantly who has the upper hand in controlling the networking gear for the coming 5G global infrastructure.
3
Wilbur Ross? Larry Kudlow?? Really?
Elect a clown, you get a circus.
19
And on top of that, to gain the Chinese good will, the US government sues one of their crown jewels, Huawei, in order to ban them from putting anything related with the infamous "5G" in the US.
Yes, the negotiations will proceed "fine" for us.
3
@Ernesto
Yep! ‘Trade wars are easy to win!’ he bleated early in his administration.
1
@Joseph Ogwell He is a "tariff man" and the people cheered until the sticker shock of the hidden tax was realized.
1
The Chinese know Trump is in incredibly desperate need of a "win" and will don anything to get it. They have perfectly timed their visit to take advantage of him and his team.
4
Pompeo is desperate to get Guaidó installed as his viceroy.
There's one small problem with America's approach here: China is not like America. If China's economy weakens, the government does not weaken along with it. The People cannot vote China's leaders out of office. It's more than likely that an economic downturn in China would serve as a demonstration of the failure of capitalism, putting the brakes on China's free market experiments while strengthening the Communist Party. It is very possible that Xi welcomes Trump's tariffs, having worked out how to use them to his own benefit.
China's communist leaders couldn't care less if a few million Chinese people lose their businesses, lose their homes or starve to death. Just like he did with Nancy, Trump is walking up to the negotiating table with a gun pointed at his own foot.
4
Stop. Please. Can we just stop using the word “deal” every time we talk about the president negotiating an agreement? It reduces all these rich, complex interactions to adversarial, win/lose, us-versus-them conflicts. Trump clearly sees the world this way. By describing the world in his terms, you’re forcing the rest of us look at it that way, too.
12
Today's White House online posting boasts "Thanks to President Trump, China's Economy Is Rapidly Decelerating."
Is this in the best interests of the United States?
Quoting former Hardee's and Carl's Jr. CEO Andy Puzder via Fox News, White House Reads says "President Trump is exposing China’s economic vulnerability, showing that the communist nation cannot maintain its rapid growth without it [sic] patently unfair mercantilist trade policies."
4
All Trump has to do is offer them and the Russians favored nation status and it will all work out.
1
Trump's tariff war has been a complete disaster for the American farmer. China knows Trump needs a win so now they can drive an even harder bargain.
His tax cut exploded the deficit & did nothing for the 99%. Major US corporations are still moving to Mexico.
Trump's shutdown inflicted $6 bill in damages to the US, more than the cost of his idiotic wall.
Kim still has his nukes and shows no sign of backing down.
So much for the man who didn't write the Art of the Deal.
Putin must be the luckiest man on Planet Earth. All he had to do was hack some websites, make a few loans, post phony stories on Facebook and thereby help to elect a buffoon whose done more damage to America than Russia has been able to inflict since WWII.
Yes, Trump is consistent. Consistently awful.
15
@Sharon K Russia was our ally during WWII. What damage exactly did they inflict on us?
Xi Jinping is the princeling son of a Long March veteran legend who was reviled and resurrected by Deng Xiaoping.
Xi Jinping is the first Chinese leader since Mao Zedong whose thoughts are deemed worthy of study by members of the Chinese Communist Party. Xi Jinping is the first Chinese "core leader " since Deng Xiaoping. Having failed to name a successor in China's term limited collective leadership model established by Deng Xiaoping Mr. Xi has effectively sought the Mandate of Heaven to rule until his death.
Donald Trump is America's leader. Trump has no governing nor political experience at any level. Trump inherited his wealth from his daddy.
America is outmatched in this confrontation.
4
Trump does not know how to negotiate.
9
Who knew global trade negotiations were so difficult?
Certainly not the the guys of Trump's team.
9
China is quietly colonizing the world and US trade negotiations are only one small aspect of the scope of Chinese influence. Here are a few other projects that have or will be completed:
Building islands in the South China Sea
Hydroelectric dams in Laos
Ports in Sri Lanka
Purchase of Hongcouver.
Colonize Malaysia
Purchase largest dairy in Australia
Build railway in Kenya and lease back to country when they can't afford to pay for it (see Sri Lanka Port)
Influence government of Cambodia and Myanmar for future exploitation
Take over grocery stores in small countries like Jamaica
Largest purchaser of land in New Zealand
Purchase 10,000 businesses in Africa and build infrastructure using Chinese labor
Under Belt and Road Initiative, the biggest builder of infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean
Real estate in the US
Birthright tourism to obtain citizenship in US and Canada
Purchase of agricultural throughout the world to supplement its meager 7% of arable land
Purchase of mines and forests across the globe
Fund infrastructure in Argentina, including two nuclear power plants
Partner with European countries to manufacture in China
Etc.
China has a ten year and beyond plan. Our government can only think until the next election cycle. The government invests in infrastructure there and around the world. They are expected to take over the lead in Artificial Intelligence in the future.
And our leader is seen as the least intelligent and most malleable due to his ego.
25
@thewriterstuff
"Our government can only think until the next election cycle"...
I think it's worse than that. We are on, maybe, a three week cycle. The Chinese are laughing wondering if our government will be open long enough to pay our negotiators.
15
President Trump puts the pressure on others; he is not under pressure himself. Mr. Trump has fulfilled his promise to do what is in his power for a border wall; he pushed it to the limit and he is not responsible for the inaction of Congress.
Declaring a national emergency to build the wall would be an abuse of power and would ultimately fail. People who are telling Mr. Trump to take that step are giving him very bad advice and setting him up for failure.
Mr. Trump has also fulfilled his pledge on trade with China, which he is also pushing to the limit. He only has to answer for his actions, and not for China’s actions or inactions, which are beyond his control.
Whenever politicians make campaign pledges and everybody knows full well there are factors outside of their control, the pledges are to make their best effort. And nobody can fault President Trump for not trying.
3
@Fred Dorbsky I remain amazed that humans learned to walk upright.
11
As best as I could see, so far the President has adopted a negotiating style that could be termed 'take-a-hostage' à la the Mafia. At least some of the downturn in the Chinese economy is due to tariffs already imposed by the US.
This approach will not work with Nancy Pelosi but since the Chinese are also transactional in their approach like the President, the outcome is not really predictable. It will be interesting to see who blinks first.
1
“We’ll make no more cheap silk ties for your daughter’s company, Mr. President, unless you surrender!’
8
We all received Christmas presents and no doubt noticed most of them were made in China. We are not competitive to make those products and frankly, our workers don't want to make them either. Letting the best country make stuff raises our standard of living. Trump just looks at the trade balance which taken in isolation is meaningless.
11
@Gery Katona
Yes. So much better to let Chinese slaves make our stuff.
1
Brilliant - start negotiations a few days before Chinese New Year when all of China goes on break for at least one week. The largest human migration on earth. Maybe the Chinese populace won’t be paying attention to how their government plays their hand?
3
Chris Christie said it right, most of the people in this government starting with the president are not ready for prime time
So we have B level people like Mnuchin Ross , The guy with the mustache,etc. negotiating with China who I don’t think in any way is a B level force
Here’s hoping an average college team can beat the Golden State Warriors
15
The main difference is that the Chinese negotiators will focus on the best interests of the Chinese people while the rich old white woman who runs the House for the Dems cares only about hating Trump—when she is not securely ensconced behind the wall of her gated home in CA or DC.
2
@ehillesum
The main difference is that the Chinese know Trump is weak, and will always buckle under pressure.
They also know he cant control Congress.
They also must figure he’s fifty fifty on impeachment.
What would you do if you were them? If you had authoritarian control over your people?
The farmers who supported Trump thinking he was in it for the long haul are about the find out what an empty suit this conman is and has always been.
Any questions about how this ends?
See Trump University.
Trump Casino.
Trump Steaks.
Etc etc etc
12
I hate Trump (and logic), therefore, I hope the evil Chinese government (which pollutes the environment, puts religious minorities in concentration camps, prohibits freedom of speech and religion, and is generally oppressive) gets the best of us in every way.
2
The Chinese should use frail old women to negotiate with trump, apparently he is petrified by them.
33
After Donald has failed in his talks with Mr. Liu maybe he will call in the big girls to clean up his mess, are you available Madam Speaker?
15
By now they've closely examined trump's methods of 'dealmaking', had a good chuckle, and have sharpened the diplomatic knives. And to think they don't even need things like shady Moscow real estate deals and stolen emails to make him squirm.
17
China is doing business in Central Asia, Southern Asia, Africa, South America, Europe, it does not need our business, and with the completion of the Silk Road railroad will need the U.S. even less.
the Chinese know how to make the products they are buying from us, they know how to gear up and make them faster and cheaper. If something has some secret to it, all they have to do is buy a few, and reverse engineer it.
Swindler Donald's bluster and lies do not faze them, they are just waiting for him to self destruct.
31
@David Underwood
Your advice then is what? That Trump prostrates himself before our new communist overlords? No thanks.
4
In SE asia at this time. Chinese products and investment everywhere. Usa could learn from China how to use soft power and investment to project national interests again. Military is very limited in how much it can project usa power. Trump and his JV team will hopefully figure this out - but probably not...
4
@Greg
Oh the big communist scare, showing you know nothing about economics or international relations. The Chinese are beating us at Capitalism, they know more about it and how it works than Don the Swindlers enablers.
My advice, put Dishonest Don in the graybar hotel.
5
Regardless of a trade agreement between US and China, Chinese people will continue their normal life as usual. People in big cities may be more affected by the tariff than in the countryside. But China's 6.6% GDP growth in 2018 is still formidable by any standard. But overall, there will no mass demonstration or protest under the communist rules. However, even with oil price in control, I already feel inflation pressure from the things I buy. With further trade deterioration, I cannot say for sure that we are ok with a trade war. President Trump should know this from the farmers, business leaders, and true politicians.
21
The President truly presses the envelope, in how prolifically he has damaged the United States, and indeed global hygiene. In turn this unpardonable [sic] conduct tempers one's natural reflex, to find him successful in negotiations with another commercial power, toward a hope that the humiliation of his likely failure will be so unambiguous, that even his fanatical base will have to forfeit their idol. Whether or not they do, their rapture is less likely to float his boat thereafter. Bring on the last gratuitous adversity, and rid us of the tyranny we brought to power.
5
@Carter Nicholas
Whatever “Chinese to English” translation software you’re using is not very good. Most people in America don’t talk about “global hygiene.”
9
@ Greg. So what? His points are valid. Translator or no.
Imagine China's current relationship with the US: The diplomatic troubles, the trade war, the dispute in the South China Sea, the 5G-race and the overall Chinese ambitions for global hegemony. That's the starting point. Imagine negotiations with a President of the U.S., who desprerately needs a meaningful political achievement. Now imagine, that this president is Donald Trump.
Suddenly, the possibility of a Cold War II doesn't seem to be too far-fetched.
17
Putin won't cave on his demand for a US-China trade war. His puppet will maintain it.
4
@Victor I. I'm still amazed by his "you're the puppet" come back to Hillary. Maybe he sees himself as a top employee, rather than a puppet.
3
After his experience with Trump Casinos, a notoriously difficult business in which 99% of casinos succeed, the "Artist of the Deal" should be able to wrap this one up in minutes. Just like he did with North Korea. China will bow down to our "rocket fuel" powered economy!!!
9
"Liu He received his Masters of Public Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has widely published on macroeconomics, Chinese industrial and economic development policy..."
China's chief negotiator is not exactly a slouch, China has been around for a few thousand years, and hurry is not in their vocabulary. They'll probably just wait for this Administration to fade and work with the next one. Time is on their side.
Probably will turn out like the stand Trump took with Speaker Pelosi.
37
@cherrylog754
I think the tide of opinion has turned on the Chinese with both the Republicans and the Democrats. Hillary was the last pro-China presidential candidate I think we’ll see for a while.
1
The Chinese President Xi Jinping is extremely intelligent and his outlook on rulership has been shaped by recent decades of ruthless one party rule in China, which he and most of his people believe are the reason that their nation has experienced great material progress. In addition, their new wealth has allowed them to expand their influence to weaker nations in Asia by building infrastructure that permits them to exert still greater control. It is not realistic to expect this outlook to change anytime soon.
11
@Janet Baker
"The Chinese President Xi Jinping is extremely intelligent..."
I don't know about that, but he has managed to make Winnie The Pooh more popular than the Panda bear.
2
He who is the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Accordingly, Russia backed Trump for POTUS and for absolutely valid reasons.
Incompetence, lack of experience, ignorance, lack of sophistication, lack of intelligence, vulnerability to compromise and manipulation, incoherence and possible dementia.
China will be a happy benefactor of Putin’s masterful strategy.
It’s fair to say that Putin and Xi Jinping are the true leaders of the world and they are leading the West out to the woodshed for a good old fashioned beating.
13
The 'unorthodox' (aka 'crank') ideologue Peter Navarro ought never to be allowed in any of these meetings.
9
The stand off against the wall after all produced a positive outcome of putting Trump under pressure to produce positive results in the trade war against China. If you stand up for what is right, it will have positive impact in different ways.
2
Even the sopranos got canceled. China had his number the first year they were dealing with him. This time the Origami Pussycat will hide in the corner then peak at them when they have entered.
8
Just an observation. Treaty of Wanghia 1844 2.0 is coming. In the early 19th century, eight western countries occupied and divided China. China lost the Opium War to Britain and signed the unfair Treaty of Nanking in 1842. US did not want to lose out to Britain, modeled after Treaty of Nanking and signed the Treaty of Wanghia 1844 in Macau.
Now, it is interesting to note that the same group of western nations to ban and contain China from developing 5G technology.
14
@SK
It’s like Genghis Khan invading China and forcing them to smoke opium and learn Japanese while a fleet of white European ships steams by laughing and humiliating China.
Or maybe it’s just common sense to keep out Chinese telecom equipment.
1
I don't expect some magic final deal with China before March 2 or anytime soon. We are in a long period of readjustment to a changed world. The US must hope China chooses continued engagement on fair terms. But if China chooses otherwise we must respond with greater disengagement. That would be sad, and is not what most Chinese people want. But the Party and government in China are not and do not follow the mandate of the people. They give orders, they don't take orders.
5
As a political commentator has realistically put it: "Everything that Trump touches dies". Now that truism is dangerously extended to our national economy. He chaotically, impetuously trusts his "gut instincts", which cavity we all know is filled with cheap, unhealthy, junk food. What could possibly go wrong?
50
I recall Trump saying "Trade wars are easy to win". So far there there's not much winning, the options going forward are worse, and all his other failures weaken his position with Xi.
I supposed he also thought 'Shutdowns are easy to win', before his ratings fell and he admitting "We're getting clobbered".
So too re the Wall, and who's going to pay for it. Not much winning there, despite the efforts of a record shutdown and a $3 billion loss.
And the latest claim on the wall is that Mexico is already paying for it with the great new USMCA. This agreement is little different than NAFTA, and there's no explanation of how it would pay for a wall.
So too N Korea, with virtually nothing accomplished but a photo op, and Pompeo hasn't made much progress since then either. But Kim is going to get a second chance to sit with a Pres of the USA, a great boost to his popularity at home and his credibility around the world including China.
China has certainly noticed all this.
Trump continues to see the world and its major functions as simple, himself as the only one who can possibly do anything right, and all of his failures as somehow the Dems' fault or correctable by tweets.
He'd floundered through bad business deals, constant suits and "fixers", tax scams, and several runs to the bankruptcy court. No matter how bad, his clever (and dishonest) attorneys and accounts have dug him out.
He doesn't yet understand that you can't run a country that way.
39
Trump made many promises to get elected: a wall paid for by Mexico; a better trade deal with Mexico and Canada; a better trade deal with China; a better health care plan. He has failed to deliver on these promises. In the case of his trade deal with China, so far it has hurt Trump supporters, such as red state farmers, more than anyone else. As with the revised NAFTA pact, any improvement in Asian trade that results from Trump's cancellation of the trans-Pacific trade pact will be minor, not requiring the drama and cost required to get there.
9
Suggestion -- instead of using the word "tariff" use the phrase "new import tax levied on the American people." It will make the story more clear.
106
Let’s hope the US negotiators can bring home required concessions and terms to some how level the playing field with China. In the meantime all US manufacturers should be looking at alternative means for supply chain as it’s in long term best interest of our nation. China is not to be trusted pure and simple.
3
@Tom Ferris
Ok Tom, let’s ramp up small screw production in Texas For the huge new iPhone factory!!
6
@Tom Ferris
If you can’t trust an oppressive Communist dictator, who can you trust?
1
Unbelievable that 30% of the US thinks it’s okay to be governed / led by an incompetent fraud.
105
@Mike OK
I think it's more like 40%. His ignorant mob is immune to rational argument, facts, or truth, and will follow their Supreme Leader to the bitter end.
11
@Mike OK
30% of the US wants to be ruled by Xi?
3
@NorthernVirginia
"30% of the US wants to be ruled by Vladimir?"
3
China has always seen Trump's weakness as a negotiator.
Their partners in North Korea have proven it.
20
gee, I wonder what those yellow behemoths are made of? could it be steel, aluminum, and other materials that have gone up in price due to Trump tariffs? shot yourself in the foot much, stable boy genius? so much winnin' my head is spinnin'.
30
“Trump” and “a win” do not belong in the same sentence.
23
Trump continues to press for better trade deals with all nations including China. Trump loves America, that's why Democrats hate him.
2
@P McGrath - things might be a bit different he stopped trying and started succeeding! If NAFTA II is an example of getting a better trade deal Don sure has a long way to go! (BTW - the big changes in tariffs on milk, cheese etc accomplished very little since Canada does buy dairy from animals that get Bovine Growth Hormone - which most of our farmers use).
1
While they're here how about letting them bid on the beautiful, glorious wall?
I'd lay odds they can do it faster, better, and cheaper than anything Trump can get the taxpayers.
21
And it might even become one of the Wonders if the World, able to stand for thousands and thousands of years! The Great Chinese Wall of Mexico.
7
US companies doing business in China should have spent the last year making alternative arrangements with other countries. Sure, in the short term, those companies will not enjoy the same enticing revenue or profit that trade with China suggests, but in the medium and long term, they will be more robust, more flexible, and more profitable.
The shareholders should remove the board and CEO of any publicly-traded company that has not taken such steps.
1
For all the people who say that Trump is only interested in big business, I say that in his tough stance with China he's showing just how much he believes in Western (we might even say liberal) principles such as rule-of-law and freedom of speech.
Trump is willing to let the big corporations suffer a bit in order to get China to change its totalitarian and imperialist ways.
10
@Amy Farmers being big corporations. 'F course.
And they're only suffering 'a bit', like federal workers did. All in the name of freedom of speech, whatever that has to do with trade.
Under tough Trump, just like he was tough with Pelosi. Took airports closing for reality to come knocking. China's GDP at its lowest is over 6%, guess who would lose if China doesn't blink.
I don't know if the chinese will blink, but I know Trump will throw everyone under the bus for his own gains. Funny how a 35-days, $11bn expensive PR campaign to con his base hasn't driven that point home yet.
48
@Amy
How is it that he's trying to affect totalitarian & imperialist ways? The trade war, according to him, is about the trade deficit, intellectual property & piracy, and illegal trade practices like currency manipulation. He isn't calling for social/political changes, just trade concessions.
I also don't believe that he intended that big corporations suffer a bit for any purpose. He hasn't said anything like that, so far as I've heard, and certainly didn't forewarn them to tighten their belts - he thought the war was going to be "easy to win".
You and I must be reading different news sources, from different universes.
12
Trump has not gotten much from the North Korean Leader and will not get much from the Chinese. American Corporations will turn on Trump for the impact he has had on the economy with the shutdown of the federal government and the Feb. 15th deadline. Americans will spend less over the next three weeks and this habit may continue for the near future.Also, there's taxes to pay, esp. in high income tax states like California, New York, and New Jersey.
41
@John
American Corporations will turn on Trump for the impact "he has had on the economy with the shutdown of the federal government"
No they won't!
The 1% got all those tax breaks; enough so that they can weather the effect Trump has had on the economy.
The Art of the Fail ®™
An exciting new Presidential paperback explaining how to collapse the United States economy from the Oval Office...available now in all Trump University bookstores.
106
Trump's 'art of the deal' skill consists of playing games of chicken. He likes to set up threatening lose-lose situations with adversaries, apparently with the notion that he's a tough guy so he can outlast his opponent. Of course, none of these contests inflict any damage on him personally - he plays with other people's chips. It didn't work out so well for him in the wall 'negotiation'. I doubt if he'll have any greater success with his 'easy-to-win' trade war. Hang on, farmers - you are part of the bargaining chips, this time.
82
Oh, well, since trade wars are easy to win, what could possibly go wrong Mr. Trump. Times yours. We're all watching, and waiting.
48
No one can make a rational, intelligent case that Trump has done practically anything but hurt our country, its citizens and world stability. One can however make the increasingly strong case that the Trump administration is criminal and incompetent. Mueller has been doing just that for the last year and a half.
74
So the obsessive Cold Warriors around President Trump are going to try to harm the Chinese economy to make up for the absurd wall building battle the president is waging and losing. Of course, the American economy will be harmed by the self-defeating course of the China antagonists if they are successful.
The antagonism towards China is completely unjustified when China can readily be dealt with in diplomatic fashion. China should be and wants to be an American partner, and rejecting this is pure prejudice and will prove self-defeating.
23
@Nancy
China only wants to be American partner so long as China controls Asia.
8
@Nancy
"China should be and wants to be an American partner, and rejecting this is pure prejudice and will prove self-defeating."
You mistakenly believe that since America tolerates one dictatorship as a trading partner, we will trade with them all. If the Chinese want to be partners, they can start by freeing the Uyghurs, removing dictator Xi from power, and embracing free and fair elections.
By the way, what's the color of the boathouse at Great Neck?
1
@Nancy
China has repeatedly reneged on agreements to stop hacking our companies. Xi promised Obama China would stop hacking US companies to steal IP and other files.
The result -
1) In 2014, US Steel , Alcoa, Westinghouse and Solar AG were all victims of Chinese hacks;
2)Marriott/Starwood had over 500 million users info stolen from Chinese military hackers late last year in an intelligence gathering operation of a scale no one has ever seen before;
3) Mike McConnel , former head of the NSA during the Bush Administration, said China has hacked every single major US corporation;
4) Major US internet security firms such as CrowdStrike, FireEye and GreatFire , among others, have all determined China was and is the main culprit in economic espionage and IP theft, by far.
Please don't confuse this as criticism of the Chinese people. I know the overwhelming majority of Chinese - in China and across the world - are honest, hard working, very honorable people.
It's the Chinese Communist Party and its members that I and many others don't trust.
9
I'm sure the Chinese are happy to hear that Mr. Trump is feeling the pressure to get a "win" in the China negotiations. I'm also sure that whatever token concessions Mr. Trump can get the Chinese to agree to will constitute the greatest agreement ever negotiated by a U.S. President ever. Period. Ever. At least since Abraham Lincoln.
55