China and Trump: retrospect and prospect

Wenshan Jia China Plus Published: 2017-02-23 18:31:18
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China and Trump: retrospect and prospect

By Wenshan Jia

It has been a few days more than a month since Mr. Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States.

The rollercoaster ride consisting of his super-hawkish rhetoric against China he would articulate on his campaign trail, the hawkish attitudes towards China expressed by some of his key advisers, and his short-lived wild play of the Taiwan card was suddenly ended (or at least paused) by his mindful acceptance of Chinese President Xi Jinping's request during the Xi-Trump telephone call on February 9, 2017 to adhere to the One-China policy.

President Trump's promise was soon followed and reinforced by his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's friendly meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of a G-20 meeting at Bonn, Germany on February 16, 2017.  Tillerson is quoted saying to Wang Yi at the meeting at Bonn, Germany: "The definition of US-China relations can only be friendly."

Such a positive turn of the US-China relations , following the pattern of past US presidents' shifting attitudes towards China, is partially credited to quite a few reported mutual public diplomacy endeavors such as Jack Ma's meeting with President-Elect Trump about his company Alibaba's proposal to create 1 million jobs in E-commerce in the United States, followed by President Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and Trump's grand-daughter's attendance at the Chinese New Year Party in the Chinese Embassy to the US at Washington D. C., and so on.

Partial credit should also be given to the comprehensive and authoritative consulting report "US Policy towards China, Recommendation for a New Administration" and its bi-partisan Task Force on US-China Policy co-chaired by Orville Schell of Asia Society and Susan Shirk of UCSD. 

Last but not least, some credit should be given to Dr. Henry Kissinger who met and advised President-Elect Trump and Mr. Tung Chee-hwa who met Mr. Jared Kushner, President's son-in-law and adviser, both about US-China relations, to name only a few.

Of course, most credit should be given to President Trump who has executed this turn.

Such constructive intercultural communication between the Chinese parties and the American counterparts, revolving around the comprehensive interdependence of US-China relations, particularly economic relations, must have found a receptive ear in President Trump who has subsequently begun to make well-informed decisions about the US-China relations.

President Trump must have been made aware that a prosperous China and solid US-China relations can only help serve his "America First" principle and can only help him achieve his goal of "Make America Rich Again, Make America Strong Again, and Make America Great Again".

Given the comprehensive national power of China, its highest annual growth rate of 6.9% in the entire world, its vast market potential via its Belt and Road Initiative, and its win-win philosophy, a prosperous China and solid US-China relations can only benefit America in real terms.

President Trump's emerging pragmatic approach is palpably in sharp relief with Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton's ideological approach of liberalism in their pivot to Asia.

Looking ahead, the Trump-Pence Administration, adhering to its "America First" principle, will, in most likelihood, continue staying informed and educated about the growing complexity, comprehensiveness and vast potential of the US-China relations by using a growing number of such channels of communication and information about China and the US-China relations from the US, China, and beyond.

Only in this way can the Trump-Pence Administration take advantage of the US-China relations to serve its goal of "Make America Rich Again, Strong Again, and Great Again". 

Perhaps, after a careful calculation of the costs and benefits, the Trump-Pence Administration will eventually distance itself from Japan's scheme to drag the US into the business of containing the rise of China in the Asia-Pacific Region despite Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's frequent diplomatic efforts to persuade President Trump to do so.

The Trump-Pence Administration, despite the low approval rating of 38% domestically, is respected by the Chinese government for its dedication to serve the American people, especially its core electorate and the Chinese people have expressed their willingness to help in this regard. 

To build strong relations with a country such as China, one of the major stakeholders, can only enhance the Trump-Pence Administration's popularity and legitimacy both at home and abroad, and help realize President Trump's campaign promises to the American people. 

As a shrewd and successful businessman, President Trump must be not only acutely aware of this, but also has the wisdom and dedication to cultivate and maintain solid relations with China.

President Trump certainly has the freedom to consider other choices in building solid international relations such as with Japan, Russia, India, or European Union over China.

However, given the US-Russia relations gone sour due to the Michael Flynn Incident, this prospect is dim.

Germany, the economic engine of Europe, beginning to distance itself from the US, is already wooing China to partner with Germany in leading a new wave of globalization through its ambassador to China in his recent article in Financial Times.

Neither India nor Japan are as comparable as China in its role of a major engine propelling the world economy. While India is still 20 years behind China in its economic development, Japan has been struggling to barely maintain its status quo despite its cunning strategy to drag the US into the combative mode against China in order to boost Japan's own standing in the Asia-Pacific region.

In conclusion, President Trump, a shrewd and successful businessman, in collaboration with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a visionary global leader, will, in most likelihood, transform himself into a shrewd and successful statesman in the process of turning the US-China relations into mutually respectful, mutually lucrative, and mutually successful relations.

Both the US and China will have a better chance to realize its own dream on the basis of these qualities of the US-China relations. I believe that despite the fact that he is under siege by the liberal media in the US for various reasons, history will be kind to President Trump if he continues his mindful management of the US-China relations in collaboration with the Chinese president.


Wenshan Jia, Ph. D., Professor, School of Communication, Chapman University

Research Fellow, the National Academy of Development & Strategy, Renmin University of China

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LU Xiankun Professor LU Xiankun is Managing Director of LEDECO Geneva and Associate Partner of IDEAS Centre Geneva. He is Emeritus Professor of China Institute for WTO Studies of the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) and Wuhan University (WHU) of China and visiting professor or senior research fellow of some other universities and think tanks in China and Europe. He also sits in management of some international business associations and companies, including as Senior Vice President of Shenzhen UEB Technology LTD., a leading e-commerce company of China. Previously, Mr. LU was senior official of Chinese Ministry of Commerce and senior diplomat posted in Europe, including in Geneva as Counsellor and Head of Division of the Permanent Mission of China to the WTO and in Brussels as Commercial Secretary of the Permanent Mission of China to the EU. Benjamin Cavender Benjamin Cavender is a Shanghai based consultant with more than 11 years of experience helping companies understand consumer behavior and develop go to market strategies for China. He is a frequent speaker on economic and consumer trends in China and is often featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Channel News Asia. Sara Hsu Sara Hsu is an associate professor from the State University of New York at New Paltz. She is a regular commentator on Chinese economy. Xu Qinduo Xu Qinduo is CRI's former chief correspondent to Washington DC, the United States. He works as the producer, host and commentator for TODAY, a flagship talk show on current affairs. Mr. Xu contributes regularly to English-language newspapers including Shenzhen Daily and Global Times as well as Chinese-language radio and TV services. Lin Shaowen A radio person, Mr. Lin Shaowen is strongly interested in international relations and Chinese politics. As China is quite often misunderstood in the rest of the world, he feels the need to better present the true picture of the country, the policies and meanings. So he talks a lot and is often seen debating. Then friends find a critical Lin Shaowen criticizing and criticized. George N. Tzogopoulos Dr George N. Tzogopoulos is an expert in media and politics/international relations as well as Chinese affairs. He is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre International de Européenne (CIFE) and Visiting Lecturer at the European Institute affiliated with it and is teaching international relations at the Department of Law of the Democritus University of Thrace. George is the author of two books: US Foreign Policy in the European Media: Framing the Rise and Fall of Neoconservatism (IB TAURIS) and The Greek Crisis in the Media: Stereotyping in the International Press (Ashgate) as well as the founder of chinaandgreece.com, an institutional partner of CRI Greek. David Morris David Morris is the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commissioner in China, a former Australian diplomat and senior political adviser. Harvey Dzodin After a distinguished career in the US government and American media Dr. Harvey Dzodin is now a Beijing-based freelance columnist for several media outlets. While living in Beijing, he has published over 200 columns with an emphasis on arts, culture and the Belt & Road initiative. He is also a sought-after speaker and advisor in China and abroad. He currently serves as Nonresident Research Fellow of the think tank Center for China and Globalization and Senior Advisor of Tsinghua University National Image Research Center specializing in city branding. Dr. Dzodin was a political appointee of President Jimmy Carter and served as lawyer to a presidential commission. Upon the nomination of the White House and the US State Department he served at the United Nations Office in Vienna, Austria. He was Director and Vice President of the ABC Television in New York for more than two decades.