04/04/2017

CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Warning the U.S. could act alone, President Donald Trump has vowed to deliver an ultimatum to Chinese leader Xi Jinping to rein in North Korea when the two men come face-to-face for the first time this week. But Trump’s early retreat on Taiwan already has chipped away at his standing with Beijing, and another bluff could leave him looking the way he hates most: Weak.
While Trump enters first U.S.-Chinese summit short on foreign policy experience, he may have advantages to help him succeed where past presidents have failed. Trump’s candor and unpredictability, combined with his veiled threats of possible sanctions on Chinese banks and even U.S. military action against North Korea, could provide him new leverage with Beijing. But if he’s bluffing, and Xi calls him on it, that might prove damaging in future negotiations with China or in building a united front against North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.”

-Matthew Pennington, “Politics Trump presses China on NKorea; another bluff could hurt him,” The Washington Post online, April 4, 2017 02:01pm