President Donald Trump has been branded “a bungling, capricious leader” by an influential Chinese academic for starting a trade war he cannot win.
In a blistering attack on White House policy, Yu Yongding, a former director at the influential Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has shredded the argument that the United States can derail the world’s second-largest economy.
“Trump claims that the ‘trade war’ with China ‘was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the US,’” Yu, who also served on the Monetary Policy Committee of the People’s Bank of China in the early 2000s, said.
“But it is he who most likely will be remembered as the fool – a bungling, capricious leader whose attacks on China only made that economy stronger, at least partly at America’s expense,” he added.
Yu’s condemnation of what is rapidly becoming a new Cold War was issued just days before Trump announced that trade talks were “moving along nicely.” He made the comment after a telephone chat with President Xi Jinping ahead of their planned meeting at the G20 later this month.
But the ‘mood music’ at the court of the Donald can quickly change. As for the state-run Chinese media, it was a godsend.
“China and the US have had differences, and this has caused [a] negative impact on the industries of both nations and global trade. China doesn’t want to see that,” Xi was quoted as saying by official news agency Xinhua and the government-owned television channel CCTV.
‘Economic problems’
“China and the US have precedents of resolving difficult trade and economic problems through dialogue. The teams of both sides must step up communication and coordination on issues of their concern to put forward a proposal acceptable to both sides,” he added.
Beijing is becoming increasingly anxious about a cooling economy buffeted by a drop in consumer spending and a dip in factory activity. Third-quarter GDP growth has also been hit, falling to levels not seen since the 2009 Great Recession.
At the same time, the economy is going through a transformation from low-cost production to high-tech manufacturing, backed up by an expansive services industry and a more sophisticated consumer sector.
But overhauling the old export-fueled model, as well as being embroiled in a brawl with the US, has taken its toll.
Very vulnerable sector right now in China is small business, getting hurt the most from trade war, deleveraging and overall tightened economy. pic.twitter.com/lQ30uROwp3
— Scott Laprise ???????? (@researchbeijing) November 2, 2018
In a move to boost deteriorating business confidence, Xi’s administration has unveiled a raft of measures, including tax cuts, infrastructure spending and cheap financing for struggling private sector companies, while ramping up the war on debt.
“[A] very vulnerable sector right now in China is small business, getting hurt the most from [the] trade war, deleveraging and overall tightened economy,” Scott Laprise, a research analyst in Beijing, said.
On Thursday, Xi again made an attempt to ease those fears when he “convened an unprecedented symposium,” according to the Chinese media, to hear the views from the private sector.
Reports confirmed that tech titans Robin Li, the co-founder of Baidu which is China’s answer to Google, and Pony Ma, the head of online giant Tencent, attended the event.
“In recent days, some people have made remarks negating and doubting the private economy,” Xi told the audience of entrepreneurs.
‘Private economy’
“For example, some argued that the private economy has completed its mission and will fade out … some wrongly argued that setting up party cells and labor unions in private businesses [are] intended to control private enterprises … all these statements are completely wrong and do not conform to the party’s policies,” he added.
Still, heavily subsidized state-owned enterprises dominate the business landscape in China, squeezing the private sector of funding.
The decision by Trump to slap tariffs on Chinese imports to the US worth US$250 billion has also wreaked havoc.
With another round of duties worth slightly more than $250 billion on the table, solving the trade war has become a priority for Beijing and Washington.
“Unless the leaders of the two countries can strike a deal at next month’s G20 meeting, the situation is likely to worsen,” Yu, the former CASS director, wrote in an opinion piece for Project Syndicate. “That’s better news for China than it is for the US.”
Prophetic insight or “foolish” rhetoric? For the rest of the global community watching on the sidelines, only time will tell.
David S. Hall U are right except asking the moron to do reading beyond what he heard on RFA. America, and democracy, was literally the shining light for Asia, especially China. In Chinese, USA is known as the "beautiful country" and the founder of modern China Sun Yat sen respected by both CCP and Taiwan Nationalist parties are educated in the USA and a Christian. His government was modelled after USA. Even the CCP asked Uncle Sam for help many many times but always turned away. Even after walking out with Stalin publicly. The USA and the west didn’t want to give the gift of democracy to Asians not until the 1980s some even later. eg HK, SK, Taiwan, Jpan all under marshall law until late 1980s, after many many yrs had mass election which didnt work, and then multi level elections under the CCP.
David S. Hall U are right except asking the moron to do reading beyond what he heard on RFA. America, and democracy, was literally the shining light for Asia, especially China. In Chinese, USA is known as the "beautiful country" and the founder of modern China Sun Yat sen respected by both CCP and Taiwan Nationalist parties are educated in the USA and a Christian. His government was modelled after USA. Even the CCP asked Uncle Sam for help many many times but always turned away. Even after walking out with Stalin publicly. The USA and the west didn’t want to give the gift of democracy to Asians not until the 1980s some even later. eg HK, SK, Taiwan, Jpan all under marshall law until late 1980s, after many many yrs had mass election which didnt work, and then multi level elections under the CCP.
Yashad Rizvi , no, we didn’t save Europe even once, need to broaden your reading on this subject. we did save Korea and Vietnam from Japan, but then we tried to destroy them. Trump is trying, but yet to rise to the exalted level of foolish we expect from our leaders, and most of our citizens.
Yashad Rizvi , no, we didn’t save Europe even once, need to broaden your reading on this subject. we did save Korea and Vietnam from Japan, but then we tried to destroy them. Trump is trying, but yet to rise to the exalted level of foolish we expect from our leaders, and most of our citizens.
It’s a joke, dont you have them in China ! Oh no you cannot critise the CCP and Winnie Xi Pooh
But it is funny !
It’s a joke, dont you have them in China ! Oh no you cannot critise the CCP and Winnie Xi Pooh
But it is funny !
what about the uighurs and winnie xi pooh
what about the uighurs and winnie xi pooh
Not quite right. Feel guilty if you must but the truth is far more complex for left wing idiots.
The Timorese helped us (not the Porto’s who cut & ran) vrs the Japs. We then let the Facist Porto’s back in. When they pulled out (thanks to the Lisbon Left) chaos ensued. The Indon’s invaded (at the time the Indons were considered a bulkward against chaos and communism, it was the 70’s. The Left’s fair hair child, Whitlam was complicit in this Indon takeover.
In the 90’s Aus and Howard did undermine Indon control, and since then the place is chaotic and corrupt.
As for Sunrise and the Timor Gap, well it is part of the Australian continental shelf. OK we can have gelt sharing agreements, but we ought to make sure the money earned will go to benefiting poor people and not just in corruption (in both Timor and Aus).
I hope this makes life just a bit more complex for you.
Not quite right. Feel guilty if you must but the truth is far more complex for left wing idiots.
The Timorese helped us (not the Porto’s who cut & ran) vrs the Japs. We then let the Facist Porto’s back in. When they pulled out (thanks to the Lisbon Left) chaos ensued. The Indon’s invaded (at the time the Indons were considered a bulkward against chaos and communism, it was the 70’s. The Left’s fair hair child, Whitlam was complicit in this Indon takeover.
In the 90’s Aus and Howard did undermine Indon control, and since then the place is chaotic and corrupt.
As for Sunrise and the Timor Gap, well it is part of the Australian continental shelf. OK we can have gelt sharing agreements, but we ought to make sure the money earned will go to benefiting poor people and not just in corruption (in both Timor and Aus).
I hope this makes life just a bit more complex for you.
Nuno Cardoso da Silva I suppose you also had to cut and run when the Anglos invaded Europe to expel your buddies the Nazi’s in 1944. Salazar was a Fascist, in case you didnt know.
Porto’s record in YOUR colonies in Africa etc under Salazar was pretty horrendous. So defending ourselves against Japan with a very unreliable fascist govt ruling Timor…. well what do you expect, I take it as a badge of pride we werent invited by a Facist colonial Govt who was hand in hand with Nazi Germany & Fascist Japan to fight the Japs in Timor.
Nuno Cardoso da Silva I suppose you also had to cut and run when the Anglos invaded Europe to expel your buddies the Nazi’s in 1944. Salazar was a Fascist, in case you didnt know.
Porto’s record in YOUR colonies in Africa etc under Salazar was pretty horrendous. So defending ourselves against Japan with a very unreliable fascist govt ruling Timor…. well what do you expect, I take it as a badge of pride we werent invited by a Facist colonial Govt who was hand in hand with Nazi Germany & Fascist Japan to fight the Japs in Timor.
Clarissa Jane Fernie Gafoor Europe was saved 3x in the 20th C from her own self destruction, by the USA.
Clarissa Jane Fernie Gafoor Europe was saved 3x in the 20th C from her own self destruction, by the USA.
The US had done its best over the years to bring: Europe, the UK, Japan, the Arab world, etc to their knees, yet here they all stand. We live in an increasingly interconnected world. The sooner the US sees this the better for that country it will be. And no, I don’t blame Trump, he is simply doing what his masters tell him
The US had done its best over the years to bring: Europe, the UK, Japan, the Arab world, etc to their knees, yet here they all stand. We live in an increasingly interconnected world. The sooner the US sees this the better for that country it will be. And no, I don’t blame Trump, he is simply doing what his masters tell him
I think his foolishness on exiting the JCPOA (Iran deal) will be his legacy as biggest blunder. This idiotic move caused him to loose the trade war with China and loose ground to Russia. If he was smart and worked with Iran, he could have conquered Russia and China and brought them to their knees.
I think his foolishness on exiting the JCPOA (Iran deal) will be his legacy as biggest blunder. This idiotic move caused him to loose the trade war with China and loose ground to Russia. If he was smart and worked with Iran, he could have conquered Russia and China and brought them to their knees.
They expect Timor to start importing boings , IBM, Apple phones !!! For Fu…k sake they have other primery needs and CHINA fits the bill …or the WEST expect them to beg for it ???
They expect Timor to start importing boings , IBM, Apple phones !!! For Fu…k sake they have other primery needs and CHINA fits the bill …or the WEST expect them to beg for it ???