New York Times (April 3)
“President Trump and President Xi Jinping of China will probably soon reach a trade agreement, but that won’t solve the biggest problems…. A good trade deal with China is welcome. But when so many Americans are dying from Chinese fentanyl, when one million Muslims are interned, when Emperor Xi is dragging China in the wrong direction, let’s not celebrate but, instead, keep up the international pressure.”
Tags: China, Fentanyl, International pressure, Muslims, Trade agreement, Trump, Xi
BBC (February 21)
“Chinese President Xi Jinping last year officially opened a bridge connecting Hong Kong to Macau and the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai—the world’s longest sea crossing bridge—as part of China’s plan to connect Greater Bay Area.” This ambitious plan seeks to spur economic development and “lays out strategic visions for the major cities in the region to become hubs in different sectors.” For example, “Hong Kong would strengthen its status as a finance and trade hub” while Shenzhen would be a tech hub and “Macau would focus on tourism.” An impressive plan, but “analysts question whether its lofty goals can be achieved.”
Tags: Ambitious, China, Finance, Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, Tech hub, Trade, Xi, Zhuhai
Bloomberg (December 28)
“Who is the most important and disruptive leader in the world today? Most Americans would probably answer, Donald Trump—with Russia’s Vladimir Putin running a close second.” There is, however “a strong case that China’s Xi Jinping may deserve the title.”
Bloomberg (December 3)
Trump and Xi gave “markets the most they could have expected,” which wasn’t that much. Still, they avoided the “risk of a serious downside (an angry confrontation and a meeting ending with recriminations and no agreement).” While some may see justification for “risk on” investing, it’s worth noting that this truce is only temporary, “in the longer term, all the risks remain in place.”
Tags: Confrontation, Downside, Markets, Recriminations, Risk, Temporary, Truce, Trump, Xi
Bloomberg (September 19)
“Trump has badly miscalculated Xi’s willingness to endure a lot of economic suffering to avoid surrender. Trump has also miscalculated who will be hurt by his tariffs; in many cases it will be American consumers and companies.”
Tags: Companies, Consumers, Endure, Miscalculated, Suffering, Surrender, Tariffs, Trump, U.S., Willingness, Xi
Wall Street Journal (September 19)
“If Mr. Trump wants to change Chinese behavior, he should first finish a new Nafta, drop his blunderbuss steel tariffs on allies, forget new auto tariffs, negotiate a zero tariff deal with Europe, and re-enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership.” Then he could “lead a coalition to confront Xi Jinping from a position of strength with targeted trade enforcement rather than scattershot tariffs. The real worry is that Mr. Trump supports tariffs for their own sake, and he may not want a China deal. With Donald Trump and trade, you never know.”
Bloomberg (July 15)
“As the world’s largest exporter, China continues to benefit from robust global demand, but the increase in tensions and trade barriers with the U.S. is weighing on the outlook…. President Xi Jinping may ultimately have to choose between softening his multi-year campaign to control debt levels, or letting growth dip below the target of 6.5 percent.”
Tags: China, Debt levels, Exporter, Global demand, Growth, Outlook, Target, Tensions, Trade barriers, U.S., Xi
Forbes (June 24)
“While Trump and some in the White House argue that China has much more to lose in a trade war than does the United States, they may be underestimating Xi’s resolve to appear unwavering in the face of attacks from China’s main economic rival, the United States.”
Tags: China, Lose, Resolve, Rival, Trade war, Trump, U.S., Underestimating, Unwavering, White House, Xi
South China Morning Post (June 18)
“The first punches in a trade fight that China didn’t want have been thrown, and now Chinese President Xi Jinping is poised to match his US counterpart Donald Trump blow for blow.” China has plenty of ammunition in a fight that might come down to painful attrition. “Safety inspections, consumer boycotts and approval delays are just some of the ways that Beijing can respond to action from Washington.”
Tags: Ammunition, Boycotts, China, Delays, Inspections, Punches, Trade fight, Trump, Xi
New York Times (March 4)
“There can be little doubt now.” President Donald Trump “truly sees no danger in Mr. Xi’s ‘great’ decision to extend his own rule until death. That craven reaction is in line with Mr. Trump’s consistent support and even admiration for men ruling with increasing brutal and autocratic methods—Vladimir Putin of Russia, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, to name a few.”
Tags: Admiration, Autocratic, Brutal, China, Duterte, Erdogan, Philippines, Putin, Rule, Russia, Trump, Turkey, U.S., Xi
