President-elect Trump He surprised China when he invited President Xi Jinping to his upcoming inauguration, a friendly gesture ahead of a widely expected trade war.
This move left everyone wondering what Trump intends to do, as no Chinese head of state has attended the US inauguration in all of history.
Nothing is expected to accept the invitation, sources told CBS News.
“We have a good relationship with China. I have a good relationship,” Trump told CNBC on Friday. “We talked and discussed some things with President Xi.”
But the invitation comes at a time when the US intelligence community revealed a massive hack of eight US telecommunications companies, which found that Chinese hackers had access to the data of millions of Americans, including the Vice President-elect. J.D. Vance.
penetration, Nicknamed the Salt Hurricane It is one of the most far-reaching attacks in history, mostly affecting people in the Washington, D.C., area, and targeting people associated with the government. Information about their phone calls and text messages was intercepted.
Chinese hackers target US telecom companies: What you need to know to protect your data
President-elect Trump. (Peter Kramer/NBC via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, a Chinese national was arrested on suspicion of flying a drone over Space Force Base Vandenberg in Northern California, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
“Many people were disappointed by this call,” said China expert Gordon Zhang.
“The man in charge The spread of Covid He continued: “Beyond China's borders, being behind the fentanyl program, which kills 70,000 Americans a year, that was not a good look for the United States. It was a betrayal of weakness.”
“The Chinese president looks at this and thinks Trump is not serious,” Zhang said.
“Xi Jinping has made it clear that the United States is China's enemy. He has done so in many ways. For a US president to show friendship is not a gesture in Xi's mind, but a show of weakness, and Chinese leaders always take advantage of that weakness.”
It is not clear whether the invitation means Trump is looking to take a more diplomatic approach to the relationship with China after a campaign marked by threats to raise tariffs.
Trump has floated the idea of imposing a comprehensive 60% tax on all goods imported from China, which would cover about $400 billion worth of products.
Free trade advocates worry that this would violate one of Trump's most important campaign promises: to rein in and prevent the record inflation numbers seen under the Biden administration.
Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Reuters/Adriano Machado)
President Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
The threat of a trade war comes as military tensions rise in the Indo-Pacific region. China has been making shows of force in the waters off the coast of US allies such as the Philippines and Japan Increasingly threatening TaiwanIt is a democratic island that it considers its legitimate territory.
Defense experts are starting to think Whether the United States could find itself at war with China.
Lyle Goldstein, director of Asian engagement at the Defense Priorities Research Center, welcomed news of the invitation and viewed it as a sign of readiness to participate.
“Nothing like this has ever happened under Biden administration,“Trump is a deal maker, and I think China is keen to make deals,” he said.
“Biden’s approach was very ideological, you know, the world is black and white.”
Goldstein added: “If we enter into a new Cold War, I believe the results will be devastating for both the United States and China.” “I think there is some understanding within the Trump team that the risks here are enormous.”
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Meanwhile, China is considering devaluing its currency further in anticipation of Trump's tariffs, according to a Reuters report.
“People have to realize that trade with China is generally a good thing,” Goldstein said. “But yes, we have to do it. There are some major adjustments that need to be made.”
“I would like to see that happen by adjusting the Chinese currency.”
