Trump Shouldn’t Take the Easy Way Out Over China
The country’s pernicious debt load and rapidly weakening economy mean the U.S. has more leverage in trade talks now than it ever had before.
U.S.-China trade talks resume this week.
Photograph: Bloomberg
When it comes to the trade talks with China, President Donald Trump and his negotiators have more leverage than any U.S. administration has ever had. Chinese policy makers are desperate for a trade truce with the U.S. in order to avoid more damage to China’s economy by further pressuring its trade surplus and export industries.
There is speculation that Trump has told his negotiators to “get a deal done” in order to put an end to recent market volatility, but that would mean foregoing a historic opportunity to come to a major restructuring of America’s relationship with China at a moment when China is most inclined to agree to concessions. We have come too far for Trump to take the easy way out.