Trump is talking about DOGE, tariffs and the usual stuff in the Oval office. There isn’t anything market moving in what he’s said already but he said this on China:
- We’re going to get along very well with China
- China is a competitor
US descriptions of China range from “competitor” to “adversary” to “enemy”.
There is a very important distinction here, especially from the Chinese side. Biden sometimes referred to China as an ‘adversary’ and that’s irked Beijing, who has tried to steer the relationship back towards ‘competitor’ or better.
Two years ago, Chinese President Xi said the US and China can only be adversaries or partners, with no middle ground.
“The number one question for us is: are we adversaries, or partners? This is the fundamental and overarching issue,” he said in San Francisco in 2023.
Now ‘competitor’ isn’t exactly ‘partner’ and Trump doesn’t always choose his words carefully but all his actions since winning the election have been much less antagonistic to China than his comments in the election.
Adding to that, Trump said he won’t comment on whether China should take Taiwan by force and that they want China to invest in the US.
There is a risk of over-interpreting here but we certainly don’t have the 60% China tariffs on Day 1 that Trump promised.