Conversation

03.24.17

Does Tillerson’s Asia Visit Signal a New Era in U.S.-China Relations?

Scott Kennedy & Shen Dingli
On March 19, during his first trip to Asia as U.S. Secretary of State, and amidst rising tensions with North Korea, Rex Tillerson met with China’s Communist Party Secretary Xi Jinping. The day before, Tillerson released a statement describing the...

China Is Reportedly Getting Ready to Hit back against Any of Trump’s Trade Penalties

Fortune
China’s government has been seeking advice from its think-tanks and policy advisers on how to counter potential trade penalties from U.S. President Donald Trump, getting ready for the worst, even as they hope for business-like negotiations.

In China Debut, Tillerson Appears to Hand Beijing a Diplomatic Victory

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
While his boss was goading China over Twitter, new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been trying to build a constructive and “results-oriented” relationship with the leadership in Beijing.

Next Stop Beijing: Tillerson Seeks to Press China on North Korea

Nick Wadhams
Bloomberg
The U.S. is hoping the urgency of North Korea’s advancing ballistic-missile technology will compel China to crack down on banks and other businesses that provide an economic lifeline to Kim Jong Un’s regime despite United Nations sanctions.

Trump’s Top China Expert Isn’t a China Expert

Foreign Policy
Peter Navarro doesn't speak Chinese, and has scant in-country experience. Should that matter?

Kushners Set to Get $400 Million From Chinese Firm on Tower

Bloomberg
Family company of president’s son-in-law in deal with Anbang, one of China's largest insurance companies. Plan is circulating among investors for more equity partners.

Trump’s Trade ‘Hammer’ Aims to Pound China, Mexico and the WTO

Bloomberg
Lighthizer has urged a harder-nosed approach to China, which accounts for more than half of America’s $500-billion trade deficit, and more trade complaints from the U.S.

Sinica Podcast

03.10.17

Jane Perlez: Chinese Foreign Relations in a New Age of Uncertainty

Jeremy Goldkorn & Jane Perlez from Sinica Podcast
Jane Perlez has been a reporter at The New York Times since 1981. She won a Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for coverage of the war against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She has reported on wars, diplomacy, and foreign policy from...

Trump Trademarks Approved by China

BBC
China has given U.S. President Donald Trump the chance to expand his brand, after approving dozens of applications to register the Trump trademark.

Trump in the China Shop

Gideon Rachman
New York Review of Books
The arrival of Donald Trump in the White House threatens a significant acceleration in the rivalry between the U.S. and China.

Great Wall of China’s Troubled History Offers Lessons for Trump, Scholars Say

Tom Phillips
Guardian
The president has described his border proposal as ‘the Great Wall of Trump,’ evoking what one expert sees as a calamitous and ill-conceived folly

How Trump Could Find Common Ground with China, Thanks to the Islamic State

Adam Taylor
Washington Post
Since the election of Donald Trump, the relationship between Washington and Beijing has appeared strained. Despite diplomatic efforts to bridge the gap, China and the United States are at loggerheads over a variety of issues, including trade and...

Viewpoint

03.01.17

Is the U.S.’s Withdrawal China’s Gain in Latin America?

Latin Americans can’t afford to wait four years to see when the United States will be willing to have an honest and reciprocal conversation about economic prosperity in the Western Hemisphere. Luckily for the U.S.’s southern neighbors, over the past...

Trump’s Not Telling the Whole Story on Trade, China Claims

Fox News
Beijing fired back Wednesday at President Trump’s claim that the U.S. has “lost 60,000 factories” since China joined the World Trade Organization, with a top diplomat suggesting the president told only part of the story.

Trump Promises More Coal and Steel Jobs. China Is cutting 500,000

Jethro Mullen
CNN
As President Trump talked up his plans to help American coal and steel workers in his address to Congress, a top official thousands of miles away in Beijing was detailing China’s plans to cut half a million jobs in heavy industries this year.

Conversation

02.28.17

Is The Trump Era Really The Xi Era?

Paul Haenle, Shen Dingli & more
On February 17, China’s Communist Party Chairman Xi Jinping announced what he called the “two guidances.” Beijing should now “guide the international community to jointly build a more just and reasonably new world order,” Xi said in an important...

US-China Relations: Trump Meets Senior Official Yang Jiechi

BBC
A senior Chinese diplomat had a brief meeting with President Donald Trump while at the White House for talks with the president's advisers

‘The President Always Gets Something’: Spicer Suggests Trump Gained Concession from China

Tom Phillips
Guardian
Before taking power Trump hinted he might reverse the US’s stance on Taiwan but later back-pedaled, prompting speculation he had capitulated to Beijing

Viewpoint

02.27.17

Back to the Jungle?

Zhang Boshu
The recent election of Donald J. Trump as the president of the United States is likely to have a profound effect on world history. The issue is not the controversies raised by Trump’s character, personality, abilities, and preferences, but rather...

Picking a Fight over China’s Currency Will Snowball: Analyst

Leslie Shaffer
CNBC
If U.S. President Donald Trump proceeds with plans to label China a currency manipulator, the confrontation would likely escalate beyond trade, David Roche, global strategist at Independent Strategy, told CNBC on Monday.

Trump Accuses Chinese of Being ‘Grand Champions’ of Currency Manipulation

Newsweek
President Donald Trump declared China the “grand champions” of currency manipulation on Thursday, just hours after his new Treasury secretary pledged a more methodical approach to analyzing Beijing’s foreign exchange practices.

Chinese President Xi Jinping Has Vowed to Lead the “New World Order”

Zheping Huang
Quartz
Chinese president Xi Jinping has vowed for the first time that China should take the lead in shaping the “new world order” and safeguarding international security, one of the latest moves putting him in stark contrast to Donald Trump and the U.S...

Is China Pushing Trump to Talk to North Korea?

Jane Perlez
New York Times
Now President Xi Jinping of China has essentially said: We have done our part in enforcing sanctions. Over to you, Mr. Trump.

Trump’s Feminist Critics Gagged by Chinese Internet Giant Weibo

Tom Phillips
Guardian
Chinese feminists have hit out at their country’s answer to Twitter after it gagged one of their movement’s most visible social media accounts in an apparent bid to stifle criticism of U.S. president Donald Trump.

What Does Trump Want? China Scours Twitter, Cocktail Parties for Clues

Bloomberg
Now one of the big questions is which view prevails in the White House: The more moderate voices of Branstad, Kushner and Pentagon chief James Mattis? Or China hardliners such as strategist Steve Bannon and trade adviser Peter Navarro?

EU Preparing Early China Summit in Message to Trump: Sources

Robin Emmott and Gabriela Baczynska
Reuters
The European Union is preparing an early summit with China in April or May in Brussels to promote free trade and international cooperation in the face of a more protectionist and inward-looking Washington, three EU officials said.

Why Chinese People Won’t Boycott Trump Fashion

BBC
In a week that saw a political storm after Nordstrom dropped Ivanka Trump fashion lines and reports in the U.S. media that her younger sister Tiffany Trump was “shunned” at New York Fashion Week, there was one unlikely win for the first family.

U.S. Eyes New Tactic to Press China

Bob Davis
Wall Street Journal
Currency strategy would avoid singling out country in bid to avoid break in relations 

Viewpoint

02.13.17

The U.S. Should Not Demand In-Kind Reciprocity from China

James Zimmerman
In a well-drafted task force report issued this week by the Asia Society and the University of California San Diego, a group of scholars and former government officials recommend that the Trump administration take steps to make the U.S.-China...

Trump Will Honor ‘One China’ Policy

Paul Haenle & Evan Medeiros from Carnegie China
President Trump agreed to honor the U.S. “one China” policy in his first phone call with President Xi Jinping since taking office, providing the basis for bilateral relations to move forward. Shortly after the February 9 call, Paul Haenle spoke with...

U.S., China Coordinated Policy Reversal

Carol E. Lee and Te-ping Chen
Wall Street Journal
Trump pledges to honor longstanding policy not to recognize Taiwan diplomatically

Viewpoint

02.10.17

Taiwan Needs to Hear Trump Say ‘Democracy’

William Kazer
President Trump has sent conflicting signals on Taiwan, first suggesting cozier relations with the self-ruled island and then walking that back to reassure China.In a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, he pledged no change to...

Conversation

02.10.17

Did Xi Just Outmaneuver Trump?

M. Taylor Fravel, Isaac Stone Fish & more
On the evening of February 9, U.S. President Donald Trump had what the White House described in a terse readout as a “lengthy” and “cordial” telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. That alone is newsworthy, as the...

Trump Pledges to Honor ‘One China’ Policy in Call with Xi

Eli Stokols
Politico
President Donald Trump backed down from a blustery threat in an effort to ease tensions with China during his first phone call with the country’s president on Thursday night.

Trump, Changing Course on Taiwan, Gives China an Upper Hand

Jane Perlez
New York Times
By backing down in a telephone call with China’s president on his promise to review the status of Taiwan, President Trump may have averted a confrontation with America’s most powerful rival.

Xi, Trump Agree to Boost Win-Win Cooperation, Develop Constructive China-U.S. Ties

Xinhua
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump pledged Friday to boost win-win cooperation in a variety of areas and develop a constructive China-U.S. relationship.

Trump Tells Xi Jinping U.S. Will Honor ‘One China’ Policy

Mark Landler and Michael Forsythe
New York Times
President Trump told President Xi Jinping of China on Thursday evening that the United States would honor the “One China” policy, reversing his earlier expressions of doubt about the longtime diplomatic understanding

Call Me, Maybe? Trump Reaches out to China’s President in a Letter

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
The letter wishing China a “prosperous Year of the Rooster” came 11 days after China celebrated its Lunar New Year’s festival. President Trump has yet to speak to Xi Jinping since his inauguration, even though he has spoken directly or met at least...

Why Donald Trump Can’t Bully China on Trade

Kenneth Rogoff
Guardian
Beijing holds trillions of dollars in U.S. debt and any trade disruption could lead to huge price rises in the budget stores on which many Americans rely

How Trump Could Already Be Affecting Monetary Policy in China

Silvia Amaro
CNBC
Chinese officials might be trying to drain liquidity from their economy but the central bank remains fearful of raising interest rates too quickly, according to one strategist who suggests President Donald Trump might be indirectly influencing...

China’s North Korea Calculus under Trump

Paul Haenle & Zhao Tong from Carnegie China
Two weeks into President Trump’s first term, the White House has launched a review of its North Korea policy. Dealing with the threat from Pyongyang’s missile launches and nuclear weapons program is likely to top the administration’s security agenda...

Donald Trump and China on Dangerous Collision Course, Say Experts

Tom Phillips
Guardian
Report says ties between the two nuclear-armed countries could deteriorate into an economic or military confrontation. 

China Judge Blasts Trump as “Enemy of Rule of Law”

News.com.au
A top Chinese judge has branded President Donald Trump a bully and “enemy of the rule of law” for attacking the US judiciary as China revels in the upheaval gripping the world’s leading democracy. 

China, United States cannot afford conflict: Chinese foreign minister

Colin Packham
Reuters
There would be no winner from conflict between China and the United States, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Tuesday, seeking to dampen tension between the two nations that flared after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. 

China Courts Ivanka, Jared Kushner to Smooth Ties With Trump

Jennifer Jacobs, Peter Martin
Bloomberg
For China, Trump’s family may be the best hope for stable U.S. relations.

How Trump Could Put U.S.-China Relations on the Right Track

Washington Post
Called “U.S. Policy Toward China: Recommendations for a New Administration,” the bipartisan report, produced by an 18-member panel.

China Protests U.S. Sanctions on Iran, but Sees ‘Clouds of War’ Dispersing over South China Sea

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
China said Monday it had lodged a formal protest with the United States over a decision to impose new sanctions targeting Iran, which affected a handful of Chinese companies and individuals.

U.S.-China War Would Be a Disaster for the World, Says Communist Party

Tom Phillips
Guardian
Editorial says two countries should strive to avoid conflict in first statement since Donald Trump’s election win

Donald Trump Hasn’t Spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping since Taking Office

Zheping Huang
Quartz
Two weeks into his presidency, Donald Trump has spoken with 18 foreign heads-of-state, either by phone or in person. Xi Jinping’s name is conspicuously missing.

Conversation

02.05.17

Is The White House Beginning to Resemble Zhongnanhai?

Melissa Chan & Yifu Dong
Since Donald Trump was sworn into office on January 20, he has lied repeatedly about the size of the crowd at his inauguration, embraced xenophobic policies, and declareda “running war with the media.” The White House has frozen out the...

Xi Jinping’s Back Channel to Donald Trump

Katsuji Nakazawa
Nikkei Asian Review
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s regime is under pressure to rethink its U.S. strategy now that Donald Trump has been inaugurated as president of the U.S. and appears intent on changing the power dynamic between the two giants.

Mexico Blowback Should Dissuade Trump from Taking on China

Komal Sri-Kumar
Bloomberg
Even though Trump chose the U.S.’s southern neighbor as his first target in the tariff war, China casts a much longer shadow over the U.S. economy.

Viewpoint

02.02.17

The Art of a China Deal

James McGregor
By his own admission, President Donald J. Trump is a brilliant businessman, a master negotiator, an exceptional deal maker, somebody who always wins. When it comes to China, he is prepared to do just that—win. “I’ve read hundreds of books about...

Trump, Tillerson and the South China Sea: What’s at Stake

Katie Hunt
CNN
Rex Tillerson, who was sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State Wednesday, takes responsibility for U.S. policy in one of the world’s biggest flashpoints: the South China Sea.

As Trump Sows Tensions with Mexico, Beijing May Reap Rewards

Nyshka Chandran
CNBC
As President Donald Trump wages a public and bellicose battle with the Mexican government, China may emerge as the victor.

Trump’s Defense Chief Heads to Asia, Eying China, North Korea Threat

Phil Stewart and Nobuhiro Kubo
Reuters
President Donald Trump’s defense secretary is expected to underscore U.S. security commitments to key allies South Korea and Japan on his debut trip to Asia this week as concerns mount over North Korea’s missile program and tensions with China.

Yuan’s Gain Has Surprised Trump, Incoming Ambassador Branstad Says

Mario Parker
Bloomberg
Donald Trump probably hasn’t followed through on campaign pledges to label China a currency manipulator because the yuan’s been stronger than he anticipated, the U.S. President’s pick as ambassador to China said Tuesday.

There Are Echoes of China in Today’s America

Maura Cunningham
Time
We are troubled by how often lately we experience a strange sort of China-related déjà vu when following events in the U.S.

Make China Great Again

David Leonhardt
New York Times
America’s rivals and enemies have enjoyed a very good 10 days.

Asia Pacific Nations Are Tilting Closer toward China as Trump Declares ‘America First’

Evelyn Cheng
CNBC
There are strong signs that countries in Asia and the Pacific region are turning away from the United States and tilting toward China as the Trump administration emphasizes “America First.”