While the majority of trade between China and the US has not been affected yet, the time is right for fair consultations and good will. China will not initiate a trade war and its door to negotiations will be always open.
What is new and deserves particular attention is the straightforward French support for the Belt and Road Initiative. This clarification is promising as the EU has recently been skeptical on Chinese investments in Europe.
The coming of 2018 has brought a positive surprise on the North Korean crisis. The North and the South are sending positive messages to each other. They include the reopening of the Panmunjom hotline.
The policy of reforms is a fundamental principle of success. Governmental supervision when required in parallel with the introduction of market elements are creating a sound economic environment.
China and the EU are certainly disagreeing on the former’s presence in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in the Balkans. The new protectionism frame introduced by the European Commission could further perplex the situation.
Xi and Trump are frequently holding telephone conversations and have already met two times. The first was last April in Mar-a-Lago and the second last July in Hamburg, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. Their third meeting in Beijing will certainly be significant as it will take place after rounds of institutional dialogues have begun.
The task of the President of China is hard. At the domestic level, the elimination of poverty remains his highest priority. From 1978 to 2016, approximately730 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty.
