Continuing the theme set in his December 4th tweet storm, President Elect Trump stated on Sunday that the US may not be bound by the One China Policy and laid out his gripes with China during an interview with Fox News:
While Trump may be right on much of his criticism of China in one area, currency devaluation, he is 10 years out of date. Although it is a common belief, China is not devaluing its currency. It is trying desperately to inflate it. (Getting your facts straight should really be a part of formulating foreign policy.)
Aside from his criticisms, Trump also stated he would not agree to the One China Policy unless China did some of the things he wanted.
China took issue and within hours a paper controlled by the Chinese Communist Party printed an editorial with the headline “Trump, please listen clearly: ‘One China’ cannot be traded.”
The editorial continued “China needs to launch a resolute struggle with him. Only after he’s hit some obstacles and truly understands that China and the rest of the world are not to be bullied will he gain some perception.”
Taiwan also made it clear it is apprehensive about being used as a bargaining chip.
The downside for Trump and the US in a battle with China starts with trade as outlined here. Additionally, China is seeing Trump’s Presidency and policies as an opportunity to lure technology talent away from Silicon Valley.
Trump’s approach to China seems to be set in taking a much harder line than the US has taken. The rest of us can only hope this ends well for the US.
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