For China, a Rethink on Donald Trump

Andrew Browne
Wall Street Journal
Beijing initially welcomed a tough negotiator—then came the Mexico episode

How China Can Win as America Turns Inward

Newsweek
As the U.S. was backing away from a major international agreement, China continued its push to strike pacts with other nations.

U.S.-China War Increasingly a ‘Reality,’ Chinese Army Official Says

Evelyn Cheng
CNBC
China is preparing for a potential military clash with the United States, according to an article on the Chinese army’s website.

Donald Trump Is Handing China the World

David Axe
Daily Beast
While Trump focuses on building up the U.S. Navy to counter China, Beijing is gobbling up the other segments of global relations that used to be dominated by the U.S.

China Says ‘Reasonable Concerns’ Must Be Factored into Trump Travel Bans

South China Morning Post
China is building diplomatic role in Middle East, and has close ties with Iran and Sudan, two of Trump’s seven proscribed countries

China’s Happy to Sit Out the Nuclear Arms Race

Melissa Hanham
Foreign Policy
While Putin and Trump push for bigger arsenals, Beijing has all the nukes it'll ever need.

Media

01.28.17

China’s Feminists Go to Washington

Kim Wall
Zhang Ling was dressed like a revolutionary from the Spanish Civil War. With a long braid emerging from a scarlet beret and clad in trousers a color she described as “communist red,” Zhang had driven her Honda from her home in upstate New York the...

Conversation

01.27.17

TPP is Dead, Now What?

David Dollar, Charlene Barshefsky & more
On Monday, on his first full working day as president, Donald Trump officially withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation trade pact that did not include China and did not have the votes to...

Chinese Send Fake Trump Tweets as Jokes, New Year Wishes

Associated Press
In China, Twitter is blocked but fake tweets by @realdonaldtrump look set to become the latest internet sensation.

If the U.S. Ever Went to War with China, It Would Be a Trump Distraction Technique

Guardian
There is no indication that the U.S. president wants a war. But, if he did get into one, it would be to direct attention away from his incompetence.

As Trump Stresses ‘America First,’ China Plays the World Leader

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China is calmly mapping out global leadership aspirations from trade to climate change, drawing distinctions between President Xi Jinping’s steady hand and new U.S. President Donald Trump

Look out China, Mexico, Japan and Germany: How Trade Shapes Trump’s Worldview

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
In a nutshell, John Robb argues that trade—rather than national security—dominates Trump’s foreign policy thinking, inverting decades of U.S. practice.

China Can Thrive in the Trump Era

Yan Xuetong
New York Times
China has a chance to become a full-fledged superpower if it responds to the Trump presidency by opening up more to the world economically and politically.

China Gives Details of Items Banned from Export to North Korea

Reuters
China released on Wednesday a new, comprehensive list of goods that can not be exported to North Korea, including many “dual use” items that can be used to build weapons of mass destruction.

How Taiwan Became a Divisive Political Issue in South Africa

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
South Africa’s opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), now sees the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party’s close ties to China as a vulnerability that the DA aims to exploit. Evidence of this new strategy came in December when the DA...

Is Trump Ready for War in the South China Sea, or Is His Team Just Not Being Clear?

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
Was this a prelude to a major escalation in the South China Sea, or is the Trump administration having trouble articulating its foreign policy?

Donald Trump Could Be Starting a New Cold War With China. But He Has Little Chance of Winning

Charlie Campbell
Time
The new U.S. administration has been testing Beijing with provocative stances on trade, Taiwan and the South China Sea. But starting up a Cold War with China is a highly risky strategy

A U.S.-China Role Switch: Who’s the Globalist Now?

Andrew Browne
Wall Street Journal
Xi Jinping sees a window as Donald Trump stirs masses with slogans

U.S.-China Relations Following Trump’s Inauguration, Part II

Paul Haenle & Chen Dingding from Carnegie China
As Donald Trump’s inauguration approaches, uncertainty looms over the future of U.S.-China policy. In Part II of this podcast, Paul Haenle spoke with Chen Dingding, an International Relations professor at Jinan University and founding Director of...

China Urges Trump Administration to Grasp Importance of ‘One China’

Reuters
The new U.S. administration must fully understand the importance of the “One China” policy and appreciate that the issue of Taiwan is highly sensitive for the Beijing government, China said on Monday.

Diplomat Says China Would Assume World Leadership If Needed

Reuters
China does not want world leadership but could be forced to assume that role if others step back from that position, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Monday

Trump Has the Power to Fight China on Human Rights. Will He Use It?

Benjamin Haas
Guardian
President inherits law originally aimed at Russia that allows him to sanction any official involved in violations—and China activists have put forward a list

Viewpoint

01.23.17

The Chairmen, Trump and Mao

Geremie R. Barmé
The January 13, 1967 issue of TIME magazine featured Mao Zedong on its cover with the headline “China in Chaos.” Fifty years later, TIME made U.S. President-elect Donald Trump its Man of The Year. With a groundswell of mass support, both men...

Asian Shares Mixed as Investors Eye Trump’s Inauguration

Aza Wee Sile
CNBC
Asian markets were a mixed bag on Friday after China’s latest set of economic data suggest the economy is recovering, even as risk sentiment sours ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration

Can Donald Trump Break Beijing’s ‘One China’ Obsession?

Chow Chung-yan
South China Morning Post
Through force and diplomacy, many renowned figures have tried to divide the country, and all have failed. Still, the new U.S. president seems to want the issue back on the table and, if so, he has a steep, historic hill to climb

How China’s Liberals Are Feeling the Trump Effect

Wang Lixiong
Washington Post
With the presidential election of Donald Trump, a man whose grasp of both democratic concepts and ethical norms is questionable, we have been forced to ask some hard new questions

Trump Inauguration: Taiwan Delegation Could ‘Disturb Sino-U.S. Relations’

Benjamin Haas
Guardian
Taiwanese delegation will attend new president’s swearing-in, prompting Beijing to warn it could ‘disturb or undermine Sino-U.S. relations’

Sinica Podcast

01.19.17

The State of Journalism in China—Ed Wong’s Exit Interview

Jeremy Goldkorn, Kaiser Kuo & more from Sinica Podcast
Edward Wong became a reporter for The New York Times in 1999. He covered the Iraq war from Baghdad from 2003 to 2007, and then moved to Beijing in 2008. He has written about a wide range of subjects in China for the Times, and became its Beijing...

Media

01.19.17

The U.S. Media’s Unfortunate Obsession with One Beijing Rag

David Wertime
On January 11, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson raised eyebrows in Washington when he said, “We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that first the...

U.S. Commerce Nominee Ross Calls China ‘Most Protectionist’ Country

David Lawder
Reuters
Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for commerce secretary, voiced sharp criticism of China’s trade practices on Wednesday

Donald Trump and China’s Year of the Hawk

Melinda Liu
Politico
A brash new U.S. president is on a collision course with a Chinese leader bent on consolidating power.

How Donald Trump Could Give China a Real Boost in Africa

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
The election of Donald Trump has introduced a new era of uncertainty in global politics, especially in Africa where the U.S. president-elect has said nothing about his foreign policy agenda for the continent. Not surprisingly, Trump’s unpredictable...

Viewpoint

01.19.17

Do We Want to Live in China’s World?

Robert Daly
Each weekday morning, I cross D.C.’s National Mall and pass a sign on Constitution Avenue bearing an epigram by the U.S. architect Daniel Burnham: Make No Little Plans. And every morning, these words make me think not of Burnham’s 20th century...

Conversation

01.18.17

U.S.-China Flashpoints in the Age of Trump

Zha Daojiong, Isaac Stone Fish & more
Over the past year, Donald Trump has vowed to “utterly destroy” ISIS, considered lifting sanctions on Russia, promised to cancel the Paris climate agreement and “dismantle” the Iran nuclear deal. But many of his most inflammatory statements are...

China’s Top Economic Official Braces for Possible Trade War

Chris Buckley and Keith Bradsher
New York Times
Liu He has struggled to overcome resistance to a program of measured economic liberalization and more open markets that he argues is critical to China’s long-term economic health

An ‘Old Friend of China’ Prepares to Bridge Differences at a Fraught Time

Rob Schmitz and Clay Masters
NPR
Branstad’s relationship with China goes back to 1985, when he was in his first term as governor and a young agricultural official from Hebei Province named Xi Jinping visited Iowa.

In Davos, Xi Makes Case for Chinese Leadership Role

Noah Barkin and Elizabeth Piper
Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping offered a vigorous defense of free trade at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday in a speech that underscored Beijing’s desire to play a greater global role

New U.S.-China Rivalry Risks Lethal Confrontation

Andrew Browne
Wall Street Journal
Provocations by President-elect Trump over trade and territory could escalate into armed conflict

Trump Warming to Reality of Climate Change, Says Senior Chinese Official

Tom Phillips
Guardian
Beijing’s chief climate negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, talks down fears that joint leadership shown by China and the US will be reversed under new president

One China Policy “Nonnegotiable,” China Tells US

Xinhua
China on Saturday told the United States that one China policy is the political foundation of bilateral ties and “is nonnegotiable.”

Ambassador to China Shares Lessons Learned with the Next Administration

NPR
Democrat Max Baucus, the U.S. ambassador to China since 2014, is preparing to hand over the post to his successor. He discusses the future of the U.S.-China relationship.

Trump Nominee’s Proposal to Block China From Islands Sets Off Alarms

Jeremy Page
Wall Street Journal
If carried out, Tillerson’s proposal to bar Beijing from some South China Sea islands would likely trigger military battle, experts say

China Delegation Reportedly Open to Meeting Trump’s Team at Davos

Gemma Acton
CNBC
China’s President Xi Jinping’s delegation to the World Economic Forum to be held in Davos next week is open to a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s team

The Unpredictability of U.S.-China Relations Under Trump

Paul Haenle & Chen Dingding from Carnegie China
As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration approaches, uncertainty looms over the future of U.S.-China policy. In part one of this two-part podcast, Paul Haenle speaks with Chen Dingding, an International Relations professor at Jinan...

History Shows Beijing Won’t Budge an Inch on Taiwan

Patricia Kim
Foreign Policy
Trump might want to use the island as a bargaining chip—but for China, it’s a matter of principle

How Chinese Entrepreneurs Can Help Trump ‘Make America Great Again’

Edward Tse
South China Morning Post
Edward Tse says Chinese investment and job creation are just what the US economy needs to sharpen its edge, not isolationism and trade wars

State Media Criticism of Trump’s ‘Addiction to Twitter Diplomacy’ Signals China’s Frustration

Kristin Huang
South China Morning Post
China’s state media has lambasted Donald Trump for conducting foreign policy through Twitter, in a commentary reflecting Beijing’s frustration with the US president-elect’s unorthodox style of diplomacy after his tweets broached sensitive issues in...

Obama Got Tough on China. It Cost U.S. Jobs and Raised Prices

Patrick Gillespie
CNN
Protect American jobs by getting tough on China. That's the underlying idea behind President-elect Donald Trump's threat of a 45% tariff against China as a ploy to bring jobs back to America. Before pursuing that strategy, however, Trump...

As Trump and North Korea’s Kim Spar, China Poses as the Responsible Actor

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
President-elect Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have been trading threats this week, while China poses as the mature, reasonable kid on the block.

Conversation

12.30.16

Rex Tillerson at State: What Will He Mean for U.S.-China Relations?

Barbara A. Finamore, Shen Dingli & more
On December 13, President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team announced the selection of ExxonMobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. We asked ChinaFile contributors to respond to the choice with a specific focus on how Tillerson...

China Warmly Welcomes a Giant Rooster With Trumpian Characteristics

Mike Ives
New York Times
Trump's golden quiff has appeared on a 23-foot tall rooster statue outside a shopping mall in the northern Chinese city of Taiyuan

Power Plays Across the First Island Chain: China’s Lone Carrier Group Has a Busy December

Ankit Panda
Diplomat
For the first time, China’s lone carrier entered the Western Pacific. What does the Chinese Navy have in mind?

Chinese Warships Enter South China Sea Near Taiwan in Show of Force

Reuters
Guardian
Beijing’s only aircraft carrier cruises past Taiwan’s Pratas Islands in an exercise state media said showed the country’s improving combat capabilities

As China Pivots, Trump Risks Fighting an Old War

Andrew Browne
Wall Street Journal
Incoming U.S. administration highlights trade retaliation as Beijing shifts to a form of high-tech protectionism

Stoking Tensions with China

New York Times
No relationship is more vital to international stability than that between the United States and China, but now there are dangerous new uncertainties

Taiwan’s President to Visit U.S. Despite Objections from China

Guardian
Planned trip causes speculation in Washington and Taiwan that Tsai Ing-wen may meet Donald Trump in person

China Weighs Response to New U.S. Trade Foe

Mark Magnier
Wall Street Journal
Beijing considers retaliatory steps after Trump appoints China trade skeptic Peter Navarro

The Trouble With Trumps Dangerous Instincts on China

Jiayang Fan
New Yorker
The President-elect has shown that his instinct is to turn the world’s significant bilateral relationships into frighteningly spectacular reality TV

“Brutal, Amoral, Ruthless, Cheating”: How Trump’s New Trade Tsar Sees China

Tom Phillips
Guardian
Peter Navarro has been picked to lead US trade and industrial policy – a move that may upset Beijing

Bring Back Jobs from China? In Shenzhen, They Aren’t That Worried

John Lyons
Wall Street Journal
As Trump presses companies on U.S. manufacturing, the city that became the globalization poster child has learned to adapt to economic shifts