After months of escalating tensions in worldwide trade and incessant bickering between the U.S. and China, a two-hour steak dinner at the G20 Summit in Argentina has soothed two savage egos and resulted in a temporary cease-fire on tariffs. The diplomatic encounter between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping of China was a highly anticipated event, closely watched by investors and world leaders for signs of a truce in the trade battle.
They were not disappointed.
Xi Jinping set a conciliatory tone as he spoke through a translator stating, “Only with cooperation between us can we serve the interest of both peace and prosperity.”
Both leaders left the table agreeing to a 90-day reprieve on a 25 percent tariff scheduled to come into force next month on $200 billion in Chinese goods and a commitment for additional bi-lateral exchanges moving forward. A rightly satisfied Trump tweeted:
“China has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into China from the U.S. Currently the tariff is 40%.”
Upon leaving the G20, President Trump issued a statement while on Air Force One traveling home, claiming the dinner with his contemporary, Xi Jinping, “amazing and productive.”
Tit for Tat Trumplomacy
The trade war erupted over Trump’s claims that China was an unfair player by refusing to cut its large surplus in bilateral trade - which should have come as no surprise with Trump’s America first agenda. Yet somehow, the world collectively lost its mind when he put his words into actions.
His diplomatic brand perfectly summed up by Liberty Nation’s Tim Donner, “Trump is the guy who barges in, turns the lights on in the darkroom, and forces the cockroaches to come out of hiding,” still high-fives some world leaders in the kisser.
Hammering his disdain at trade inequalities, he boldly showed China he wasn’t messing around. But his actions brought Xi Jinping to the counter, bracing for the worst-case scenario, nonetheless, and resulted in gains for both nations and a short-term strategy for moving forward.
What did the U.S. gain from the exchange? White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement highlighting victories:
“China will agree to purchase a not yet agreed upon, but very substantial, amount of agricultural, energy, industrial, and other product from the United States to reduce the trade imbalance between our two countries.”
The statement also highlighted a “humanitarian” gesture by Xi Jinping who agreed to “designate” Fentanyl as a Controlled Substance _ a long-sought request by the U.S. to prosecute people shipping synthetic opioids. Trump has been dogged in stemming the flow of opioids into America -- a crisis that kills over 40,000 people each year.
Balancing Act
Will Trump level the trade playing field?
Headlines of the event have ranged from “Making China Great Again,” to “Cold War Fears De-escalate,” and all manner of respect and disrespect in between. But when the accord is boiled down to simple meat and potatoes, the United States and China have not ended the tariffs on trade battle. Instead, they have suspended the escalation.
But it’s progress that allows further discussions between two nations that must retain economic relations for their own countries and for the good of the world order.
Will Trump level the trade playing field?
We will watch and wait.
