For subscribers

The US has no China policy, no strategy and no clue

‘Strategic schizophrenia’ is no way to deal with Beijing in an escalating economic war.

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox

It is not clear what the US wants even as the Trump administration ramps up tariffs against Chinese exports.

It is not clear what the US wants, even as the Trump administration ramps up tariffs against Chinese exports.

PHOTO: AFP

Andreas Kluth

Follow topic:

As the presidents of the United States and China prepare to meet on the sidelines of an economic summit in South Korea – an encounter that may not actually happen – some foreign policy strategists in Washington are not just worried but aghast.

The two mightiest nations on earth seem hell-bent on

waging economic war

up to and including “mutual assured destruction”. And at least one of the pair seems to have no plan, no expertise and no clue.

See more on