, Columnist
Trump's China Strategy Isn't Working
The administration’s scattershot approach is ineffective, if not harmful to U.S. interests. And it’s only amplifying Beijing’s nationalist tune.
Poking the bear.
Photographer: Nicolas Asfouri/AF
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The Trump administration’s willingness to push the Chinese harder on trade has struck a bilateral chord. Beijing is listening. So far, so good. Now the question is what the U.S. wants to achieve. Answer: the total destruction of China as a competitor.
That isn't a trade goal, and the demands being made contradict one another. This aim also unnecessarily awakens Beijing’s deepest nationalist fears.