Donald Trump and Chinese President
Xi Jinping made headlines this week when Trump tweeted about relief and eased
sanctions for Chinese telecommunications equipment maker, ZTE Corp. Trump said
the firm needed “a way to get back fast,” in order to ease trade tensions between
China and the U.S. This comes after the U.S. Commerce Department banned U.S.
firms from supplying ZTE Corp with valuable parts needed to manufacture the
cellphones. However, this move opens the gate for criticism that the President
has put Chinese business ahead of American jobs, something that would greatly
tarnish Trump’s legacy and his intentions going forward. I think this move
allows Trump to finagle his way out of a tense conversation with China’s top
economic advisor in a meeting set for Tuesday May 15. But I do think that Trump
supporters and Republicans alike will be frustrated by this move, seeing it as
Chinese corporations winning the mini-trade war that was brought about by Trump’s
tariffs on steel months ago. Many of his supporters would perhaps see this as a
weak move, one that contradicts with Trump’s personality and history in
negotiations. I, however, think this is a gradual step off the ledge in a trade
war with China. Sure we all want jobs to remain in the United States and for
American workers to be the ones getting our hard earned money, but in reality,
we just cannot compete with China and the rest of the world. Globalization is
not only affecting small countries that trade within themselves, but it’s
affecting large industries in powerful countries that cannot produce goods as
cheaply as another country, as evidence here by the U.S. and Chinese steel
industries. While I do not know the answer to sustaining both economies and steel
industries, I think this move by President Trump is an appropriately timed de-escalation
of the potential trade war with China, however, it may not have been the
appropriate industry.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-14/trump-s-china-u-turn-emboldens-democrats
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