Events of the past year have left no doubt that the relationship between Washington and Beijing has fundamentally changed for the worse. Words from the Trump administration on Thursday confirmed that there is plenty of room for it to deteriorate even more before it gets better.
“A new consensus on China is rising across America,” US Vice-President Mike Pence told an audience in Washington, warning Beijing in fighting terms that “this president will not back down.”
The wide-ranging speech called out China for criticisms long-levied against Beijing, including back peddling on reforms and representing a malign influence in global politics. But Pence also denounced the Chinese government on a new front that related to US President Donald Trump himself: election meddling.
“China has initiated an unprecedented effort to influence American public opinion, the 2018 elections and the environment leading into the 2020 presidential elections.”
Beijing, he said, “is pursuing a comprehensive and coordinated campaign to undermine support for the president, our agenda, and our most cherished ideals.”
“President Trump’s leadership is working,” Pence said, “and China wants a different American president.”
The accusation that China’s leaders are proactively trying to undermine the current US administration in domestic politics has come to the fore only recently. Trump highlighted the charge during a press conference last week, during which he said that evidence would be presented in support of the claim.
So far, the allegation appears to be based primarily on the fact that retaliatory tariffs placed on US goods by China have overwhelmingly targeted counties that voted for Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
The notion that Beijing is specifically targeting Trump, which served as an exclamation point at the end of Pence’s laundry list of grievances, raises the question of whether the US president will abandon his insistence on maintaining the public image of a warm relationship with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. The US president acknowledged this possibility last week, saying “maybe he’s not anymore,” when asked whether they were still friends.
That could have implications for other areas of contention between the world’s two largest powers, analysts say, whether it be trade, the balance of military power in the Pacific, or the future of Taiwan. Trump has consistently stressed the importance that personal relationships of heads of state play in bilateral negotiations. From the first time he met with Xi until now, he had not previously wavered in his confidence that they are good friends.
“Until recently, when people used the phrase ‘a new cold war’ when talking about the United States and China, I always said ‘you’re exaggerating,’” Richard Haas, president of New York-based think tank Council on Foreign Relations said in a television interview following Pence’s speech.
“And for the first time […] I think that language now is not that far from reality,” Haas lamented.
The Trump administration initially focused just on trade, “but now it’s broadening, and it almost seems as if the administration wants to have something of a cold war with China.”
“The Chinese are beginning to think that we are not looking for a solution here, that we want to fundamentally damage them, and what’s adding to that are recent actions: the Pence speech today […] the fact that we sanctioned China over buying arms from Russia […] they’re beginning to think that we’re actually looking […] to basically broaden the fight.”
The shift in the relationship was on display at the Chinese embassy in Washington earlier this week at an event commemorating China’s National Day holiday. Senior Trump aide Matt Pottinger stressed to Chinese diplomats that the administration has updated its China policy “to bring the concept of competition to the forefront.”
“It’s right there at the top of the president’s national security strategy,” Pottinger reminded the audience.
Chinese ambassador Cui Tiankai responded to the sentiment in a radio interview following the event that he thinks the complicated relationship naturally involves an element of competition. But, he added: “Just because we have differences, the need for cooperation is even bigger.”
Those differences are multiplying and they have become more severe, Pence suggested in his speech, pledging that the Trump administration would maintain its naval presence in the South China Sea and call out China for alleged theft of intellectual property, repression of religious freedoms, as well as pressure tactics used to erode international support for Taiwan’s government.
“America will always believe that Taiwan’s embrace of democracy shows a better path for all the Chinese people,” Pence said to loud applause from the audience at the Hudson Institute think tank, the resident China scholar of which was highlighted last week by president Trump as being America’s foremost expert on the country.
Accounts have shown that Chinese leaders were caught off guard by the Trump administration’s unclear and at times inconsistent demands in trade negotiations. If there is a similar lack of clarity when it comes to issues such as the nature of Washington’s support for Taiwan, or operations in the South China Sea, some experts have warned, the term “cold war” – far from being exaggerated – may not go far enough.
Jeff Voeks
THEY ARE !
So China bought an ad to layout the effects to agriculture products due to US tariff wars compares to Russian hacking influening election results, and this moron saying China’s action is more serious? What’s his motive?
The bully calling the victim for starting the fight, absurdly stupid!
How ironic that the decendants of priates and bandits are accusing China of all these fabricated lies! YOU ARE THE ONE DESTROYING THIS WORLD! and you have the audacity to attack China! China is picked on only because she is getting more wealthy and starting to threatening your priviliaged position pillating others. IF JAPAN, INDIA OR ANY OTHER NATION WERE AS POWERFUL AS CHINA IS TODAY, THEY WILL BE PICKED ON JUST AS WELL! But do not misread China, this is one civilisation with great resolve and will continue to survive to the end! Long after yours is gone!
Bring in on, retards!
In terms of foreign influence on US policy, a couple of facts should be acknowledged:
1. It’s known that many countries or entities all over the World have been paying the US lobbyists, including Taiwan, to influence the US foreign policy
2. If foreign countries can do that, it means the US should fix the system from ground up instead of selectively blaming some country.. Otherwise the US would be just working for some existing foreign forces which are controlling the US policies.
The trade war itself may do that. Public and private debt levels are so high that the rise in prices due to tarrifs may stall consumer spending and throw the country into another recession or worse.
Francis Chow
I am of the same opinion, for the simple reason that the US economy is mostly a bubble: heavily indebted and hollow industrial base. A lasting economic war is the worst enemy of bubble.
If the US can’t be friends with Canada, who can they be friends with ? They held a gun to our heads for the USMCA. Jo Kang is right.
Trade between USA and China in August 2018 compared to August 2017 as released by United States Census Bureau:
In August 2018, USA imported 47.9 billion dollars of goods from China and exported 9.3 billion dollars of goods to China.
In August 2017, USA imported 45.8 billion of goods from China and exported 10.8 billion of goods to China.
This means that imports of Chinese products to USA increase by 2.1 billions dollars in August 2018 compared to August 2017, an increase of 4.6%.
On the other hand, exports of US goods to China decreased by 1.5 billion dollars in August 2018 compared to August 2017, a decrease of 13.9%.
It is clear that the trade war between USA and China, which USA started, is not going in favour of USA.
No wonder USA is getting angry.
The most stupid remark on this board. China will be the biggest economie in about 15 years!!!.
From a European!!!!
Richard Truong probably not. But anything can happen in war. I think China can win a war of attrition
The question is "Is the US powerful enough to hold such a hegemony?"
American actions will make no sense until we manage to dump this clown. When we do, we’ll have to undertake years of rebuilding efforts to counteract his stupid actions. This is horrible.
America does not have friends, only vassals.
As it is, we can see very clearly what the US is doing now. Its not unlike the shenanigans in gulf of Tonkin, bay of pigs and Iraq ‘s WMD big gun lies just to continue with their hegemon or just plain simple revenge and ego. We can also see Israel act with impunity in Syria and Palestine (Russian plane incident excepted of course) under the hegemons protection and the bellicose reaction towards UN/ICJ rulings. Such are the advantages of a country with 11 carrier groups. Big guns does talk. Bring peace to the region? yeh right, they brought a lot of peace to middle east when they started there didnt they. I personally do not agree with China’s SCS claim triggered by the Japanese govn claiming the small rock island but I believe that ASEAN countries should be the one to take the lead in having a proper conversation with China without a war mongering nation barging into this side of the world with their military assets and set a threatening tone. They wouldnt do it on their side of the world why are they doing it on this side. Re Monroe Doctrine. The Trump administration I suspect has been planning for such end game since the beginning. MAGA seemed innocent enough until someone like Trump tries to take it to fruition irrespective of the consequences or any unintended consequences. What we are seeing now are the side shows , red herrings, grown ups throwing tantrums, heckling, attempts at trade isolation, lies upon lies being plastered all over western MSM to shape the narrative and demonise China. You know what fhey say about lies, said if often enough and they start to sound like gospel truth. All leading to one thing – capitulation of a sovereign nation through whatever means. They know China is not Iraq or Cuba but the price of hegemony is at stake here. I believe China and Russia has stopped buying and is reducing the US Tbills, petro yuan has been introduced, India bought their S400 with rupees. EU has set up an SPV to deal with Iran to sidestep SWIFT system. Looked to me US is lashing back violently. I shudder at the thought of the inevitable. Maybe China should just let the US be the class monitor and save the trouble for all.
Actually China cannot complain. China was lucky. GWB wanted war but 911 intervened. China had another 16 years of growth and its economy quadrupled in size. At the time of 911 its economy was less than 1/3 the size of the US economy. Now it’s 20% larger. It is roughly a fight of equals. But China has a far greater capacity to absorb losses in a battle of attrition. It will be a reprise of the American Civil War, with China as the Union and the USA as the Confederacy. China as the power with population and industrial momentum, and the US as the stagnating power struggling to survive.
It’s the other way around.
Of course the US is playing India against China. Why wouldn’t they? It’s the old British, or even Roman, strategy of divide and conquer. The US will tolerate neither the ascendancy of India or China, unless it’s power is broken.
Srinivasa Nanduri . . . well India isn’t in this fight, but eventually it will be India’s turn, as it’s economy grows; if the US is still the hegomonic power it will never tolerate India’s ascendancy. And because of India’s and China’s size, even at 25% of the USA per capita income, the national economy would exceed the USA’s. So it’s really a status quo that enforces poverty for most men, and wealth for a few.