Trump’s Quick Wins on China Trade Won’t Wipe out the Deficit

Jethro Mullen
CNN
The U.S. and China have given themselves 100 days to make progress on the thorny issue of trade.

Viewpoint

04.06.17

What Do Trump and Xi Share? A Dislike of Muslims

Nury Turkel
During the 1980s, as an idealistic, ambitious Uighur growing up under repressive Chinese conditions in the city of Kashgar, there was one nation to which I pinned my hopes for freedom and democracy. To me, the United States was a symbol of my...

Environment

04.06.17

As the U.S. Steps Back, China Must Step up on Climate Leadership

Joanna Lewis & Li Shuo from chinadialogue
Presidents Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet today at Mar-a Lago, Florida, and given the tense state of U.S.-China relations and the political leanings of the Trump administration there is much at stake for cooperation between the countries on the...

Viewpoint

04.05.17

Xi Is Ready for the Summit. Trump Can’t Possibly Be. So What Should He Do?

Robert Daly
At the summit in Mar-a-Lago, U.S. President Donald Trump hopes to alter deeply-rooted Chinese policies despite having no China strategy. China’s Communist Party Secretary Xi Jinping hopes that by making deals on secondary matters important to Trump...

Is Trump Wise to Take on China over Trade?

BBC
Trade will be one of two key issues on the agenda, along with North Korea. But what’s the problem—and what can Trump do about it?

U.S.-China Trade Scorecard: Advantage China

Roger Yu
USA Today
When President Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, he will remind his guest that China runs the largest trade surplus with the United States.

Why China’s Got Beef with U.S. Beef

Bruce Einhorn
Bloomberg
Beef may be on the table when the U.S. president and Chinese leader Xi Jinping discuss trade during this week’s summit at Trump’s Florida resort.

Viewpoint

04.05.17

No Winners or Losers, Please

Paul Gewirtz
Who will be the winner of the upcoming Trump-Xi summit? My answer: That’s a dangerous—and wrongheaded—question to focus on. Yes, we want the U.S. to win, but the U.S.-China relationship must be played and judged as a long game.The present situation...

Can Trump Match Xi Jinping’s Game?

Evan Osnos
New Yorker
Donald Trump has struggled with his position on China. President Xi Jinping has several reasons for confidence when he arrives at Mar-a-Lago for negotiations.

A Veteran and China Hand Advises Trump for Xi’s Visit

Mark Landler and Jane Perlez
New York Times
This week, Matthew Pottinger will be on hand for President Trump’s meeting with President Xi Jinping of China, as the top Asia policy maker in an administration desperately short of his kind of on-the-ground experience.

As Trump-Xi Summit Looms, Evidence of Strained Ties on China-North Korea Border

Sue-Lin Wong and Joseph Campbell
Reuters
What was planned in 2011 as a 30 billion yuan ($4.36 billion) development intended to showcase economic engagement between the two countries has stalled in recent months.

Trump’s Gifts to China

Roger Cohen
New York Times
The United States meets China this week in a position of weakness.

Despite Trump’s Rage against China, American Public Opinion Is Warming to the Asian Giant

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
As the U.S. president prepares to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Florida this week, a new survey by the Pew Research Center shows that the American public is significantly less worried about those issues than they were a couple of years...

China Meeting Spotlights Trump Ethics Swamp: Sen. Cardin

Ben Cardin
USA Today
We can't tell if he's acting in the public interest or tending to the family business.

As He Gets Ready to Meet Trump in Florida, China’s Xi Jinping Has a Lot to Worry about

Jonathan Kaiman
Los Angeles Times
The meeting could set the tone for the next several years of U.S.-China relations, and allow the two leaders to square each other up on issues including North Korea and global trade.

Trump’s Bad Deal with China

Charles Edel and Mira Rapp-Hooper
Politico
The early signs suggest Xi Jinping will run the table at Mar-a-Lago.

Conversation

04.04.17

What Should We Expect When Trump and Xi Meet in Florida?

David Dollar, Jeremy Goldkorn & more
On April 6-7, U.S. President Donald Trump will host Xi Jinping in their first face-to-face meeting when China’s President arrives at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. The meeting comes early in Trump’s presidency, after a campaign in which he frequently...

Trump Ready to Tackle North Korea Alone—FT Exclusive

Lionel Barber, Demetri Sevastopulo, and...
Financial Times
Donald Trump has warned that the U.S. will take unilateral action to eliminate the nuclear threat from North Korea unless China increases pressure on the regime in Pyongyang.

Viewpoint

04.03.17

What Does the Future Hold for Business between the U.S. and China under Trump?

Ker Gibbs
We are now well into the first 100 days of the Trump administration. His supporters expect major changes in the China relationship. They voted for a man who promised to impose a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods and slap China with the currency...

Trump Will Host China’s President in Florida on April 6

Bill Chappell
NPR
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit President Trump in Palm Beach, Fla., next week, for talks that will likely range from economic to security issues. The first meeting between the two leaders will stretch from April 6-7.

Climate Change: China Calls U.S. ‘Selfish’ after Trump Seeks to Bring back Coal

Benjamin Haas
Guardian
State-run tabloid says Beijing cannot fill vacuum left by U.S. and urges west to pressure Trump on global warming

Trump’s First Test in Asia, Part II

Paul Haenle & Michael Green from Carnegie China
While President Trump appoints new officials to his administration and reviews policy frameworks, Asia-Pacific leaders are moving ahead. Since taking office, Trump has grappled with consequential developments in the region, ranging from North Korea’...

China Poised to Take Lead on Climate After Trump’s Move to Undo Policies

Edward Wong
New York Times
President Trump’s signing of an executive order on Tuesday aimed at undoing many of the Obama administration’s climate change policies flips the roles of the two powers.

South China Sea Controversy Heats up as Man-Made Islands Are Almost Complete

Kirrily Schwarz
News.com.au
The controversy in the South China Sea is heating up, with a new report from the U.S. warning China has almost completed construction of three mysterious man-made islands.

Trump’s First Test in Asia

Paul Haenle & Michael Green from Carnegie China
While President Trump appoints new officials to his administration and reviews policy frameworks, Asia-Pacific leaders are moving ahead. Since taking office, Trump has grappled with consequential developments in the region, ranging from North Korea’...

Rex Tillerson’s Deferential Visit to China

Hannah Beech
New Yorker
America’s top diplomat agreed that “the U.S. side is ready to develop relations with China based on the principle of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win coöperation.”

China and America Need a One-Korea Policy

Michael D. Swaine
Foreign Policy
The only way to stop North Korea is by guaranteeing the peninsula will eventually be united—and non-aligned.

Tillerson’s Beijing Visit Was a Home Run for China: State Media

Janis Mackey Frayer
NBC News
China’s state-run media cheered Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s weekend visit to Beijing as a diplomatic win for the home team.

China’s Taxes on Imported Cars Feed Trade Tensions with U.S.

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
A Jeep Wrangler can cost $30,000 more in China than in the United States—and the reasons illustrate a growing point of tension between the two countries.

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.

Tillerson Ends China Trip with Warm Words from President Xi

Yeganeh Torbati and Michael Martina
Reuters
With warm words from Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ended his first trip to Asia since taking office with an agreement to work together with China on North Korea and putting aside trickier issues.

Rex Tillerson and Xi Jinping Meet in China and Emphasize Cooperation

Jane Perlez
New York Times
Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and President Xi Jinping of China cast aside their differences on Sunday with a public display of cooperation, sidestepping areas of disagreement even as North Korea made another defiant statement by showing off a...

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.

The Real Reason China Won’t Exert Economic Pressure on North Korea

Tom Holland
South China Morning Post
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson thinks that if only he can enlist Beijing’s support, sanctions will compel Kim Jong-un to give up his nuclear arsenal—here’s why he’s wrong

How China Is Preparing for Cyberwar

Adam Segal
Christian Science Monitor
The U.S. and China have made progress on curbing commercial cyberespionage. Now, the global powers need to set limits when it comes to digital warfare.

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.

Amb. Haley: China Must Prove to Us It Wants to Stop North Korean Aggression

Fox News
United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley said this morning that the Trump administration is taking a new, tougher approach toward China in an effort to deter North Korean aggression.

Books

03.16.17

Hollywood Made in China

Aynne Kokas
China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 ignited a race to capture new global media audiences. Hollywood moguls began courting Chinese investors to create entertainment on an international scale—from behemoth theme parks to blockbuster films. Hollywood Made in China examines these new collaborations, where the distinctions between Hollywood’s “dream factory” and Xi Jinping’s “Chinese Dream” of global influence become increasingly blurred. With insightful policy analysis, ethnographic research, and interviews with CEOs, directors, and film workers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Los Angeles, Aynne Kokas offers an unflinching look at China’s new role in the global media industries. A window into the partnerships with Chinese corporations that now shape Hollywood, this book will captivate anyone who consumes commercial media in the twenty-first century. —University of California Press{chop}

Clean Energy Could Spark a Trade War between the U.S. and China

Nick Stockton
Wired
In the past few years, China has surpassed the U.S. in electric vehicle sales, renewable energy capacity, and recently announced it was investing $365 billion to keep the momentum going. That investment puts China in a prime position to lead the...

China to Trump: We Don’t Want a Trade War—but If There Is One, You’d Lose

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
China’s premier told the United States on Wednesday: We don’t want a trade war with you, but if one breaks out, your companies would bear the brunt.

Tillerson to Press China on North Korea in Tough First Asia Trip

David Brunnstrom and Yeganeh Torbati
Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson faces a tough first trip to Asia this week when he will seek to reassure nervous allies facing North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threat and press China to do more

Chinese Premier Calls for Return to Talks on North Korean Nukes

NBC News
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called Wednesday for all parties to return to talks amid rising tensions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.

What Would Closer U.S.-Russia Relations Mean for China?

Paul Haenle, Andrew S. Weiss & more from Carnegie China
The Trump administration has spurred a debate in the United States on how to best manage the complex bilateral relationship with Russia. Paul Haenle sat down with Carnegie scholars Andrew Weiss, Paul Stronski, and Alexander Gabuev on the sidelines...

China Tried to Get the U.S. to Negotiate with North Korea—the U.S. Declined

Emily Rauhala
Washington Post
The United States rebuffed a proposal from China to “apply the brakes” to an escalating standoff with North Korea, saying “positive action” was required before either country would engage with “irresponsible” leader Kim Jong Un.

Conversation

03.09.17

Is THAAD the Start of a U.S.-China Arms Race?

Isaac Stone Fish, Graham Webster & more
In late February, U.S. President Donald Trump called for adding $54 billion to the U.S. military budget—an increase of roughly 10 percent. And in early March, despite outcry from Beijing, the United States began deploying the Terminal High-Altitude...

China Wants to Avert ‘Head-on Collision’ in the Koreas, but Will Trump Sign on?

Emily Rauhala
Washington Post
China’s foreign minister has a plan to ease tensions in East Asia: North Korea should stop testing missiles, and the United States and South Korea should stop joint military exercises, he said Wednesday.

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.

Forget the Great Firewall... China Is Beefing up Its Ability to Police All Cyberspace

Catherine Wong
South China Morning Post
China plans to bolster its defenses in cyberspace while keeping a close eye on the U.S. government’s review of its own strengths, a ­senior foreign ministry official said on Thursday.

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...

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.

Russia, China Block U.N. Sanctions on Syria over Gas Attacks

Michelle Nichols
Reuters
Russia on Tuesday cast its seventh veto to protect the Syrian government from United Nations Security Council action, blocking a bid by Western powers to impose sanctions over accusations of chemical weapons attacks during the six-year Syrian...

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...

How to Persuade China to Squeeze North Korea’s Lifeline

Patricia Kim
Foreign Policy
Beijing is reluctant to give Pyongyang a real ultimatum—but the U.S. can bring it round

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.

China and North Korea Reveal Sudden, and Deep, Cracks in Their Friendship

Jane Perlez
New York Times
For decades, North Korea could count on China as a loyal ally despite the erratic behavior of the ruling Kim dynasty. But by this week, things may have gone too far, with North Korea unleashing a tirade in which it deployed some of the most damning...

North Korea Mocks China for ‘Dancing to U.S. Tune’

Jonathan Cheng and Chun Han Wong
Wall Street Journal
North Korea appeared to lash out at Beijing in a state-media commentary published Thursday, aiming unusually pointed rhetoric at a powerful neighbor that Pyongyang has long relied on for economic and diplomatic support.

Mnuchin Says He Won’t Label China a Currency Manipulator...Yet

Kevin Cirilli and Saleha Mohsin
Bloomberg
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin signaled no urgency to designate China a currency manipulator, saying he wants to use a regular review of foreign-exchange markets to determine if the U.S.’s largest trading partner is cheating.

China to Suspend All Imports of Coal from North Korea

Reuters
China will suspend all imports of coal from North Korea starting Feb. 19, the country’s commerce ministry said in a notice posted on its website on Saturday, as part of its efforts to implement United Nations sanctions against the country.

South China Sea: U.S. Carrier Group Begins ‘Routine’ Patrols

BBC
U.S. aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson has started what it calls “routine operations” in the South China Sea, with a fleet of supporting warships.

China Moves to Keep Its Deadly Opioids out of U.S.

Brian Spegele
Wall Street Journal
China moved to stem its flow of deadly drugs to the U.S., adding four lethal heroin-like narcotics to a list of controlled substances after Washington had urged it to help combat a growing opioid epidemic.