A radio host recently inquired what actions might be taken if someone were tasked with mediating the trade dispute between the United States and Communist China. The response was clear: the position would be resigned immediately in favor of another job.
The pessimism stemmed from experiences during a tenure in President Donald Trump’s first term, working as the National Economic Council director and participating in the China trade team. Endless meetings with Chinese counterparts revealed their inflexibility, rendering the efforts futile.
Bob Lighthizer, serving as the U.S. Trade Representative and team leader, highlighted unfair trade practices, particularly with China, and emphasized protecting America’s advanced technology and intellectual property. His book shed light on China as a global leader in intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers.
Many misunderstandings persist, such as the structure where nearly all American companies in China are effectively run by the Chinese due to a board control ratio of 51 to 49 percent, dictated by the Chinese Communist Party. This allowed for forced technology transfers as part of the Communist government’s policies.
In 2018, during a visit to Beijing, interactions revealed only two genuine reformers among a group dominated by Chinese Communist Party affiliates. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross managed negotiations concerning commodities, delegating assistance roles, and setting trade targets which led to prolonged arguments over two years.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin concentrated on allowing American businesses to own and manage operations in China, achieving limited success. Lighthizer addressed broad issues, including intellectual property theft, with numerous meetings in Washington, D.C., yet progress remained elusive until parameters were set, later known as the U.S.-China Phase 1 trade deal.
The G-20 meeting in late 2019 saw further discussions culminating in a banquet where President Trump confronted Xi Jinping about the fentanyl trade – Xi’s agreeable response was later seen as insincere. The Phase 1 deal signed in January 2020 saw no implementation from China, amidst efforts to conceal the Covid outbreak that originated in a Wuhan lab, subsequently spreading globally and resulting in over a million American deaths — a tragedy never acknowledged by China.
China ignored the Phase 2 trade deal onwards, citing Covid disruptions, yet continued with intellectual property theft and technology transfers. They disregarded the commodity targets established by Ross despite Covid’s diminishment.
Recently, a conversation with a friend with longstanding business operations in China confirmed views that the country had seen an increase in state communist control under Xi Jinping, regarded as having powers greater than Mao Zedong. Xi’s tight control over Chinese society and policy tolerates no dissent, underscoring the notion that mediating between the U.S. and China is not a viable option.
As a result, President Trump’s decision to apply tariff pressure on Xi Jinping’s economy is seen as justified, challenging an emperor-like figure whose enduring impact could be damaging China’s future.
