The year 2018 was a special year. The experience of the world and its people with U.S. President Donald Trump, who was beginning his second year in office, was completely different from previous years and other presidents. Donald Trump introduced a new strategy and tactic into the realm of international relations that had not been tested before. The tactic of exerting force and prioritizing U.S. interests transformed the approach of political leaders around the world.
In early 2017, Trump's behavior towards China did not indicate that he was pursuing a clear strategy. For example, on April 6 and 7 of that year, Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping at his private estate (Mar-a-Lago) in Florida. During this meeting, bilateral issues, trade, and North Korea's denuclearization program were discussed. Trump called this meeting a "very big progress," and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who was present at the talks, stated that bilateral relations had reached a "new peak." However, in the first quarter of 2018, this optimism turned hostile with the announcement of $50 billion in tariffs in response to what the White House termed "theft of technology and intellectual property" by the Chinese. The crippling tariffs included imports of steel, aluminum, shoes, electronic parts, clothing, and some Chinese investments in the United States. This was the first sign of a move towards a trade war between the two countries.
In July, the disputes between China and the U.S. reached their peak. A new tariff of $43 billion was imposed on Chinese industrial products, and in addition, imports of goods such as televisions and medical devices were subjected to an additional 25% tax. China's retaliatory action included increasing tariffs on over $500 billion worth of U.S. imports, including items such as meat, dairy products, seafood, and soybeans. President Trump's and his administration's view was that China was abusing free trade regulations and jeopardizing U.S. business interests in China. In response, Beijing warned that high tariffs could disrupt the global trade market and that the threat stemming from a bullying attitude in trade could become a principle.
However, alongside this trade friction, conflicts in other areas continued. The U.S. expected China to cooperate in implementing a policy to curb North Korea's nuclear capabilities. Beyond that, China's policy of expanding political, economic, and military pressures on neighboring regions such as Taiwan - the so-called Xi Jinping Doctrine - has been and remains a subject of severe contention and opposition from the U.S. Although the U.S. does not recognize Taiwan as an official state, any reference to Taiwan by U.S. officials provokes Chinese anger. In 2010, the U.S. sold over a billion dollars worth of weapons to Taiwan. At the beginning of his presidency, Trump had a phone conversation with the President of Taiwan, but due to existing sensitivities, when the U.S. referred to "freedom of navigation" in the disputed South China Sea in the summer of 2018, it incited severe Chinese anger.
In the first quarter of 2018, this optimism turned hostile with the announcement of $50 billion in tariffs in response to what the White House termed "theft of technology and intellectual property" by the Chinese. The crippling tariffs included imports of steel, aluminum, shoes, electronic parts, clothing, and some Chinese investments in the United States. This was the first sign of a move towards a trade war between the two countries.
In July, the disputes between China and the U.S. reached their peak. A new tariff of $43 billion was imposed on Chinese industrial products, and in addition, imports of goods such as televisions and medical devices were subjected to an additional 25% tax. China's retaliatory action included increasing tariffs on over $500 billion worth of U.S. imports, including items such as meat, dairy products, seafood, and soybeans.
President Trump's and his administration's view was that China was abusing free trade regulations and jeopardizing U.S. business interests in China. In response, Beijing warned that high tariffs could disrupt the global trade market and that the threat stemming from a bullying attitude in trade could become a principle.
However, alongside this trade friction, conflicts in other areas continued. The U.S. expected China to cooperate in implementing a policy to curb North Korea's nuclear capabilities. Beyond that, China's policy of expanding political, economic, and military pressures on neighboring regions such as Taiwan - the so-called Xi Jinping Doctrine - has been and remains a subject of severe contention and opposition from the U.S.
Although the U.S. does not recognize Taiwan as an official state, any reference to Taiwan by U.S. officials provokes Chinese anger. In 2010, the U.S. sold over a billion dollars worth of weapons to Taiwan. At the beginning of his presidency, Trump had a phone conversation with the President of Taiwan, but due to existing sensitivities, when the U.S. referred to "freedom of navigation" in the disputed South China Sea in the summer of 2018, it incited severe Chinese anger.
The role of other regional players such as Rodrigo Duterte, the President of the Philippines, should not be overlooked in this region. The Philippines claims ownership over part of the South China Sea and refers to it as the West Philippine Sea. If it were not for Vietnam's mediation, this issue could have led to war between China and the Philippines, which would naturally involve the U.S. The denuclearization of North Korea and the prospect of establishing normal relations between the U.S. and North Korea are other matters that greatly provoke the Chinese. Trump's efforts to reach an agreement in this regard would primarily lead North Korea to emerge from the freeze caused by sanctions; however, thawing North Korea's sanctions could lead to a strategic freeze for China. Although the political regime in Pyongyang lacks domestic and international legitimacy, this is not the only problem for the country. North Korea is economically and politically dependent on China, and for North Korea, interaction with the world strategically and geographically passes through Chinese territory. The U.S. cannot solve North Korea's nuclear problem without considering the relations between the two countries and cannot turn North Korea into a country that is reliant and dependent on the U.S. Naturally, China would obstruct rather than cooperate in this regard. Russia's role in this matter is somewhat similar to that of China, while these actions and reactions are viewed by the U.S. as sabotage in the denuclearization issue in the region. It seems that South Korea and Japan are more aware of the problems and deadlocks of this issue than the U.S. and have tried to adapt their policies to the existing conditions.
The denuclearization of North Korea and the prospect of establishing normal relations between the U.S. and North Korea are other matters that greatly provoke the Chinese. Trump's efforts to reach an agreement in this regard would primarily lead North Korea to emerge from the freeze caused by sanctions; however, thawing North Korea's sanctions could lead to a strategic freeze for China.
Although the political regime in Pyongyang lacks domestic and international legitimacy, this is not the only problem for the country. North Korea is economically and politically dependent on China, and for North Korea, interaction with the world strategically and geographically passes through Chinese territory. The U.S. cannot solve North Korea's nuclear problem without considering the relations between the two countries and cannot turn North Korea into a country that is reliant and dependent on the U.S.
Naturally, China would obstruct rather than cooperate in this regard. Russia's role in this matter is somewhat similar to that of China, while these actions and reactions are viewed by the U.S. as sabotage in the denuclearization issue in the region. It seems that South Korea and Japan are more aware of the problems and deadlocks of this issue than the U.S. and have tried to adapt their policies to the existing conditions.
At the Security Council meeting on September 27, Donald Trump even accused China of interfering in the U.S. midterm elections. This accusation was met with a response from the Chinese Foreign Minister, who called it baseless. The U.S. President made this accusation at a time when the midterm elections were to be held in less than six weeks (on November 6). In response to reporters about evidence for this claim, Trump only said he could not disclose them but claimed that the Chinese did not want his supporters to win because he was the first U.S. president to challenge China in trade matters. In any case, this claim indicated deeper disagreements between the two countries that had only manifested in terms of economic warfare until that time. The last two months of the year witnessed a worsening of relations between the two countries, but ultimately, in an unexpected move, the U.S. and China decided to temporarily mend their relationship. The story was that President Trump, on the verge of attending the G20 summit of the world's 20 industrialized and wealthy countries, where he was to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Argentina, first (on November 27) announced that tariffs on about $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would be raised to 10%. Additionally, he threatened that if negotiations with the Chinese did not proceed favorably, the remaining imported goods from China would be subject to new tariffs. His reference was to a $267 billion collection of imported goods from China on which the President intended to impose a tariff increase of between 10% and 25%. On the same day, Trump predicted that he would not agree to a plan to delay the imposition of tariffs. Of course, the imposition of these tariffs primarily endangered a large American company, "Apple," which is one of the main producers of laptops and smartphones globally. The show of force strategy by President Trump is a known move, but the President likely did not have a clear or accurate assessment of the Chinese reaction and, in addition, did not calculate the reflection of these threats among American companies active in the technology production sector.
Finally, on December 1, the leaders of the two largest economies in the world, while sitting face to face at the dinner table for about two and a half hours and discussing, managed to temporarily halt the confrontation regarding tariff increases or, in other words, the economic war between the two countries. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were accompanying the President. At the end, Trump emphasized his "special relationship" with Xi Jinping, stating that they ultimately made a decision that would be "good for both China and the U.S." and the Chinese President also confirmed that this decision was a "clear sign of our personal relationship." Observers do not believe that the relationship between the two countries has been fundamentally repaired. Whatever it is, it is temporary.