Xi Jinping is more focused on competing with Western powers. (People News Illustration)
[People News] On November 14, Xi Jinping traveled to Peru and attended the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road project at Chancay Port via video, showcasing his influence in the U.S.'s backyard. However, the U.S. was already prepared for this.
According to international media reports, Mauricio Claver-Carone, an advisor to Trump’s presidential transition team, stated in a phone interview, “All products passing through Chancay Port or any port in the region owned or controlled by China should be subject to the same 60% tariff as products coming from China.” He emphasized that this measure would prevent Chinese goods from bypassing tariffs by entering the U.S. through other countries. It also serves as a reminder to nations to carefully consider the implications of allowing China to build ports on their territory. “This is a warning to any country collaborating with China on maritime infrastructure, including Mexico,” he added.
Clearly, Trump understands how to strike at the CCP’s weak points.
Having just won the U.S. presidential election, Trump stated during his campaign that his first action as president would be to bring Xi Jinping to the negotiating table.
Trump, who consistently focused on an anti-China agenda during his campaign, openly claimed to understand Xi Jinping well, describing their relationship as one of “mutual understanding, both enemies and friends.” He said, “Xi Jinping is somewhat of a friend. We’ve maintained a good relationship. He’s very strong and smart...” However, in another interview, Trump bluntly declared, “Once I’m elected president, I will impose 100%, 200%, or even 2000% tariffs. I will negotiate with Mexico and China, and you will get absolutely nothing out of them...”
Was Trump praising Xi Jinping or mocking him with these statements?
Hudson Institute’s China Center Director, Miles Yu, commented that Xi Jinping’s greatest trait is his strong vanity. He likes to act as a global leader and direct the world. Trump sees through this, so he plays along, claiming to have a good relationship with Xi. In reality, Trump knows that Xi is a dictator with ill intentions toward the U.S.
Yu explained, “In major policies, Trump will manage his relationship with Xi Jinping well on the surface but will never see him as a true friend because Xi is an untrustworthy person.”
Moreover, the CCP is a hypocritical authoritarian regime. “If you’re friendly, it accuses you of hidden agendas and conspiracies; if you’re not friendly, it says you’re trying to contain China.”
Following Trump’s election victory, questions arose about whether his “America First” agenda would escalate U.S.-China geopolitical tensions, lead to a second round of trade wars, and how he perceives Xi Jinping.
Yu clarified that the trade war wasn’t initiated by Trump but was a response to the CCP’s long-standing trade war against the world. He believes that for Beijing to improve relations globally, it must change its policies instead of always assuming others are targeting it. “China needs to adopt a consistent approach to change itself,” he said.
He continued, “Whether U.S.-China relations improve depends entirely on the CCP’s actions. The root cause of tensions in U.S.-China relations is not the U.S. but the CCP. The CCP has long imposed high tariffs on American goods entering China. Trump simply recognized the reality and responded in kind.”
Yu predicted that under Trump, U.S.-China relations would maintain a surface-level cordiality but would not view the CCP as a genuine ally due to its unreliability. He highlighted past instances like the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S.-China trade agreement, where the CCP consistently said one thing and did another.
In an interview with the independent media platform Uninformed Blog, Yu emphasized that discussions on changes in U.S.-China relations often focus on who is in power in the U.S. or what actions the government takes, which he said is misguided.
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