China both hopeful and on edge as Trump returns to White House

BEIJING - Chinese officials and ordinary people are hopeful but on edge as Donald Trump returns to the White House, eager to avoid a repeat of the bruising trade war that drove a wedge between the economic superpowers during his first term.

Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng, in meetings with Tesla chief executive Elon Musk and other members of the US business community in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration, said he hoped US companies would “take root” in China and help to stabilise bilateral relations, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

When Trump was last president, he heaped tariffs on more than US$300 billion of Chinese imports. In recent months, he has said he would add tariffs of at least 10 per cent on top of what is already imposed on Chinese goods, a move that would hurt China at a time when its economy is struggling to find a firm footing.

At the same time, the US President-elect made the seemingly conciliatory move of inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration on Jan 20. Mr Xi sent Mr Han in his place, a gesture of goodwill given that China was only represented by its ambassador at the previous two US presidential inaugurations.

At their meeting on Jan 19, Mr Han told Mr Musk, appointed by Trump to lead a department aimed at creating a more efficient US government, that he “welcomed Tesla and other US companies” to share in the benefits of China’s development and contribute to China-US relations.

The vice-president's meeting with US businesses was chaired by FedEx chief executive Rajesh Subramaniam on the US side, and included the heads of eight US firms from a range of industries including technology, banking and logistics, according to an American executive in the room, who added that the meeting overran its allotted time and was very cordial.

“(Han Zheng) is seen as someone, because of his time in Shanghai, who understands the concerns of the foreign business community, he understands the economy,” Mr Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, told Reuters in Beijing.

“It’s a nice fig leaf, or whatever you want to call it, so that’s positive.”

Mr Xi and Mr Trump were upbeat after speaking by phone on Jan 17, with Trump calling it “a very good one” and Mr Xi saying he and Trump both hoped for a positive start to US-China relations.

“What I can see is that China’s economy is not very good at the moment, due to the impact of the pandemic, and (the fact that) Trump himself is a crazy, wild person (doesn’t help matters on our side),” said a Beijinger surnamed Wang, 36.

"The pressure still remains quite big (for us)." REUTERS