Trump’s Visit Tries to Turn Nothing into a Political Asset
https://x.com/pati_marins64/status/2055090234535092301
Trump’s Visit Tries to Turn Nothing into a Political Asset
There was much talk that President Trump hoped to resolve the war in Iran before traveling to China. In reality, he is now going to China with the main mission of resolving the war in Iran.
This is an almost impossible mission. Xi Jinping remains very calm: China still has robust oil stockpiles for at least 100 days.
The situation is even more comfortable regarding jet fuel, where China has gained additional bargaining power by controlling its exports, unlike Europe and the rest of Asia, which are facing severe shortages.
Xi is watching from the sidelines as the messy war orchestrated by Trump and Netanyahu unfolds. I do not believe he will lift a finger to help unless he receives very significant benefits in return. Granting major concessions to Xi, however, would represent another defeat for Trump, just as offering benefits to Iran in any peace deal would be.
The American president is now caught in his own web, with very few options left, especially as the pressure mounts to return from China with tangible results.
The White House’s strategy has been to transform speculation into political victories.
For example, Trump announced that China had agreed to purchase 200 Boeing aircraft. Earlier signals had discussed a potential deal for up to 500 planes, but the number announced by the American side during the summit was 200 jets, in a contract with the potential to reach tens of billions of dollars at list prices.
However, unlike the White House, China’s Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) made no mention of the figure 200 aircraft.
In their official statements, they used generic language such as “we agreed to expand cooperation in the civil aviation sector based on market demand.” They added that “specific details of commercial cooperation should be handled by the companies involved in accordance with market rules.”
This was a cold shower on the narrative that the deal had already been sealed by the governments.
Similarly, Trump announced purchases of 20 million tons of soybeans, but China’s Ministry of Commerce only stated that both sides had agreed to “expand agricultural trade,” without citing numbers or specific timelines.
Beijing has not yet officially confirmed the details of this commitment, treating it more as a long-term goal than a finalized contract.
Regarding semiconductors and export licenses, the U.S. claimed that China would issue “general licenses” for the export of minerals such as gallium and germanium.
In reality, Beijing only agreed to temporarily suspend certain restrictions for one year, while keeping the control regime fully intact and ready to be reactivated if U.S. sanctions on Chinese chips are not eased.
Full article:
open.substack.com/pub/global21/p
posted by Satish Sharma at
09:16
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