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Trump is losing the trade war with China
His lack of strategic discipline and transactional statecraft give Beijing the upper hand.
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Mr Donald Trump’s second-term China policy has become a Rorschach test for foreign policy analysts.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Monica Toft
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US President Donald Trump’s approach to China reveals a leader improvising rather than implementing a coherent strategy. It reflects a form of transactional statecraft – prioritising short-term economic wins over long-term strategic alignment.
As a result, Mr Trump’s second-term China policy has become a Rorschach test for foreign policy analysts. Depending on your vantage point, you might see a master dealmaker softening his approach to secure a grand bargain, a hardball negotiator maintaining maximum pressure, or a leader simply buying time while two global powers dance towards an inevitable confrontation.
