Economic engagement with China is must if Trump wants to make America great again: former US ambassador

As the meeting between the Chinese and American presidents is approaching, analysts and officials in the US believe a continuation of economic cooperation with China is still the best option for Trump.

President Donald Trump signed two more executive orders on Friday, taking a step further toward fulfilling his long-time promise to reshape US trade policy.

The orders initiate a large-scale review of the causes of the trade deficits of the US, while at the same time, look to impose tougher anti-dumping law enforcement on foreign manufacturers.

The White House insisted the measures are not aimed at putting China on notice ahead of the Xi-Trump summit.

But on the same day, a new report from the US Trade Representative criticized China over its industrial and financial policies for industries such as steel and aluminum.

The report accused China's practices for causing overproduction, therefore giving Chinese exporters unfair advantages over foreign competitors.

However, Stapleton Roy, a US Ambassador to Beijing in the 1990s and a well-known China expert, believes Trump has no expertise on international trade.

"So he has a prejudice that trade deficits are bad. I just don't accept the idea that deficit with one country is automatically bad. It depends on the circumstances, and those circumstances should be looked at before the policy is established. They haven't done it yet."

US official data show China contributed more than 340 billion US dollars of trade deficits to the country last year.

The number, however, represented a contraction of 7 percent year on year.

Economists believe as time goes by, the trade imbalance between the world's two biggest economies will correct itself, as China, with a growing middle class, is on course to become a consumption-driven economy.

Stapleton Roy says in order to "make America great again", President Donald Trump will have to strengthen economic ties with countries like China.

"I would hope the (Xi-Trump) summit has an impact on the president's understanding that US national interests will be served by being economically engaged in East Asia. How he does it. That's the president's decision, as long as it works. If it doesn't work, the US, in my judgment, is going to be an even more rapidly declining country."

Professor Yin Xiaohuang, director of the American Studies Program at Occidental College in California, suggests economic issues between the US and China are not zero-sum games.

"Trump's ruling policy is to bring benefits back to America. But actually, there are no conflicts between the US and China in economic development. They are developing in different models, and are complementary. So there is room for mutual benefits."

While Trump has repeatedly lashed out at China's trade practices, he has rarely mentioned Chinese investment in his country.

Data compiled by the New York-based consulting firm Rhodium Group show Chinese businesses invested nearly 46 billion US dollars in the US last year, three times as much as the level a year earlier.

Taking her own area as one example, US Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao, advised Chinese investors to pay more attention to job creation.

"There is transportation expertise which we do not possess here - for example high-speed rail. But for this president, creating American jobs is very, very important. So unlike in the past, where some foreign investment companies or foreign companies have come into the United States and not created too many jobs, I think that's going to have to change."