Link to Article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8eyx718pz2o
Trump and Xi Jinping met today in South Korea for trade talks. Trump described the meeting as a “great success” and rated it a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10. China’s response was more reserved – they described the meeting as being more procedural than anything – it was focused more on continued negotiation than absolute resolution. The US agreed to lower tariffs on Chinese imports, and China plans to suspend control over exports of rare earths and critical materials that are crucial for the production of smartphones and military equipment. While there is no finalized deal, the meeting lowered tensions between the US and China, although both countries are still solely focused on their own national interests. Markets in both the US and China should, for a little while, feel reassured about their situation and stability.
China has learned from previous mistakes and has become increasingly less dependent on the US – their exports to America have dropped from 20% to 11%. Beijing has also used targeted retaliation, which puts pressure on Trump’s political base as a way of leveraging negotiations.
Experts have said that the meeting is nothing more than a temporary truce, and that the US and China’s moves in different directions are more of a controlled breakup than anything else. The meeting reflected China’s control over their national interests and confidence, which is juxtaposed by Trump’s seemingly performative optimism.
The rivalry between the US and China will continue because of the vast economic, technological, and ideological divide that exists between the two countries. Their relationship has recently shifted from a “partnership” to a management of competitive interest – it is similar to what went on during the Cold War – neither one is willing to invest too much stake in the other, and both avoid all-out conflict.
This connects to Power more than any other key concept, because both sides are in a power struggle in these trade talks. Trump and Xi want to get as much for their respective countries as they can, but they can’t be too hostile in the discussions. China and the US are becoming less and less diplomatically dependent on one another, which allows them to keep larger amounts of power.