CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “There’s been a whole lot of winning so far during the Trump presidency — for China. After accusing China of ‘raping’ American workers and stealing their jobs in his White House campaign, Donald Trump has found it harder to hold Beijing to account as President. In fact, his unpredictable policy moves and temperament are offering openings to China that could help it fulfill its mission of cementing its rise to superpower status more quickly than expected. Trump has shown the policy reflexes best suited for a pinball machine when it comes to Beijing, threatening to crush it in trade wars one day and then being ready to make deals the next. He’s obsessed with one economic issue above all others: the $375 billion US trade deficit with China, which appears to be distracting him from goals that include halting Chinese intellectual property theft, which represents a far more serious threat to the American economy. Trump’s decision to anchor US-China relations on a hyper-personal relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping also opens the US President to the possibility of manipulation. Chinese leaders have long used flattery to court American politicians — and the current commander in chief seems especially susceptible to such an approach.”
-Stephen Collinson, “The Trump presidency is a win for China,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, May 24, 2018 4:28 am