China’s Response to Trump: A Wait-and-Watch Approach
Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped Donald Trump’s inauguration, sending Han Zheng, China’s vice president, instead. This move signals that China is awaiting the US’s next step in their relationship. Despite Trump’s intention to “fine-tune” relations with Beijing, his past actions and rhetoric indicate a desire to curb China’s economic growth, particularly in advanced technology sectors.
Trump’s primary objective isn’t merely to hinder China economically but to reshape its development model to mitigate threats to the US. He aims to restrict tech transfers that could enable China to surpass the US, especially in fields like artificial intelligence, microchip production, and biotechnology. Additionally, Trump is likely to continue or escalate sanctions against major Chinese companies like Huawei and Xiaomi, using these measures as leverage in negotiations.
Key issues expected to dominate Trump-Xi discussions include Taiwan and the Ukraine conflict. While TikTok was briefly mentioned during their recent call, it’s not a primary focus. Instead, Taiwan could serve as leverage for the US, testing China’s limits on this issue. On Ukraine, the US seeks to prevent China from gaining diplomatic prestige by resolving the conflict or driving a wedge between Russia and China to weaken their partnership.