Bessent says that:
- We will see if Trump’s visit will take place as scheduled
- Markets should not assume any rescheduling is because of any conflict between the US and China
- We discussed a new tariffs regime in meeting with Chinese counterparts over the weekend
- We do not want to decouple but are doing a strategic change on trade relations
- Any delay to Trump’s visit would not be because of the Strait of Hormuz topic
- If the visit is rescheduled, it would be Trump’s decision to stay in the US amid the Iran war
According to the White House, US president Trump is scheduled to visit China on 31 March to 2 April. However, that visit has been made rather awkward following the Supreme Court decision in ruling against Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. This was a key point made earlier in the month here already.
Trump was supposed to go into this visit with a perceived upper hand and to try and arm wrestle with China a little. But in the absence of his tariffs card, the balance of the scales has tipped in favour of Beijing. And that is not something that he will be very pleased with, especially if he is just to walk away with light favours and gestures of goodwill.
As mentioned two weeks back, nothing might actually change and both sides know that very well. So, why bother?
“The way that I’m interpreting this is that:
- Both sides will want to keep separate economic talks and geopolitical issues
- Trump already agreed to visit Beijing before the Supreme Court decision, so he has to save face and still go
- China is more than happy with the current predicament and will gladly put up a facade to appease Trump
- As has been the case before, China wants to play the long game and ride out Trump’s presidential term
- Beijing might agree to economic deals during the summit but may not deliver on them as has been the case before
In other words, it seems like we’re all lined up for another show of theatrics. Both sides will boast about taking wins but in the end, don’t expect any major changes to the status quo from now and after the Trump-Xi summit.”
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.
