![]() ![]() The Xi–Trump meeting in Florida would be wise to address three issues to get the relationship started on the right footing. ![]() So far Trump and his team have chosen to resist the pressure. Another group of Americans encourages Trump to live up to his own tweets about China. Trump is therefore challenged to prove that the United States can, after all, stand up to China. Never mind the contrast between Obama’s declarations that ‘prosperity without freedom is just another form of poverty’ in philosophising a strategic ‘ pivot to Asia’, and Xi wondering why foreigners view China as a threat when his country no longer exports ideology or poverty. Many American pundits blame the Obama administration for having failed to ‘stand up to China’ on just about every issue area from trade and cyber security to North Korea and the South China Sea. This time round, ‘get tough on China’ is more the norm than the exception among US foreign policy protagonists. While there is no evidence to conclude that bilateral ties worsened from those high-level meetings, there is still room for the relationship between China and the United States to improve. The number of times Xi met with Obama surpassed that of all their predecessors combined since 1971. The past warns against predicting breakthroughs from the Florida summit. On issues of finance and trade, Trump has proven amenable, contrary to repeated rhetoric during his presidential campaign.īut the ecology surrounding the relationship between Beijing and Washington is still fragile. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, on his maiden trip to Beijing in early March surprised observers - both Chinese and American - by repeating Chinese talking points on conducting the bilateral relationship. Two days are reserved for the occasion, a clear indication of commitment to achieving their respective goals.īy the time of the meeting, the Trump administration will have sufficiently demonstrated that its China policy direction is one of stabilisation. In both countries expectations for the two leaders to prioritise substance over formality are well justified. In March, China convened its National People’s Congress meetings, an occasion for leaders at various levels of government to harmonise approaches to governing China for the remainder of the year. This month, Trump will have been in office for a full one hundred days. The timing for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping this week is just about right. Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |