Resolving trade and investment conflicts gets tougher for Donald Trump and Xi Jinping amid North Korea threat
Tackling conflicts on the sidelines of G20 is now a daunting task for the two presidents after North Korea’s successful launch of an ICBM
US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, have several trade- and investment-related conflicts to address in their second face-to-face meeting at G20 in Germany, a job made more daunting now that they’re caught up in a barrage of militaristic threats tied to North Korea’s recent test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Trump was ready for a more aggressive stance even before the latest provocation from Pyongyang. Indeed, trade with China had been simmering much longer as a political issue in the US and accusations that Beijing’s trade and investment policies have gutted employment in the US helped to buoy Trump’s winning presidential campaign.
The Trump administration’s strategy of “being very nice and seeking to have the most positive personal relationship as possible” has ended, Arthur Waldron, an original member of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said in an interview with the South China Morning Post.
That commission’s most recent report to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) recommended tighter restrictions on state-owned Chinese companies looking to buy US technology, potentially blocking Chinese companies from US assets they’re most inclined to acquire.
US Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are writing legislation to strengthen the authority of CFIUS, a body led by the US Treasury, which can recommend that the president block foreign deals on national security grounds.
