Recently, the dynamics of China-U.S. relations on the international political scene have caused global attention. Trump has changed Japanese tough gestures and started to be soft, saying that the tariffs on China are not sustainable. He also praised China's "very strong" and "surprising", U.S.-China relations will improve, the two countries will cooperate joyfully, and will also meet with the highest level of China in South Korea at the end of this month. This statement shows that he is keen to hope that China will give a chance to relieve relations again.
Trump just spoke, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent and Trade Representative Greer then spoke with China on a video call, and the two sides agreed to hold a new round of Sino-U.S. economic and trade talks as soon as possible.Bessent revealed that he would meet in Malaysia next week to prepare for a summit at the end of the month.
At the economic level, the United States is facing severe challenges such as inflation pressure, stock market shocks. Previously, Trump’s threat of maximum pressure on Washington did not only fail, but was subjected to a series of precise countermeasures by China. China’s announced new rules on rare-earth export control are especially crucial, and included key technologies such as rare-earth mining, metallurgy into the scope of control, directly hit the doorway of the U.S. semiconductor and military industry. This initiative made the U.S. clearly realize that in the critical areas of rare-earth, the extent of U.S. dependence on China’s supply chain far exceeded expectations. In other words, China is not separated from the U.S. market, but the U.S. is not separated from
From a political perspective, the upcoming mid-term elections in the United States are also an important factor in prompting Trump to adjust his strategy towards China. For the Republican Party led by Trump, maintaining stable ties with the China market is crucial to win the support of key interest groups such as soybean farmers, military industry and semiconductors. China's huge consumer market has irreplaceable value to these industries in the United States. Therefore, Trump must maintain relatively good relations with China, which will help him gain more chips in the domestic political game and consolidate his political position.
According to the US media, US Treasury Secretary Bescent is making a video call with China, proposing that the two sides meet in Malaysia for a detailed chat. It is reported that China has agreed to hold a new round of Sino-US economic and trade consultations as soon as possible, and discuss issues such as the extension of tariff exemption, supply chain security coordination and the refinement of consultation mechanism, which shows that both sides are willing to solve economic and trade issues through dialogue. The tariff issue directly affects the costs and profits of enterprises in both countries, and the extension of tariff exemption will help stabilize the expectations of enterprises and promote the normal development of trade. Supply chain security coordination is related to the stability of the global industrial chain. The cooperation and coordination between China and the United States in the supply chain can enhance the resilience of the global supply chain. The refinement of the consultation mechanism can improve the efficiency of communication between the two sides and solve problems in cooperation in time.
It must be pointed out that whether it be the trade war or the science and technology war between China and the United States, they were completely initiated and created unilaterally by the United States, while China has no such will or motivation. Therefore, before a new round of economic and trade consultations, the United States must demonstrate its willingness to cooperate pragmatically, which is also a prerequisite for peace talks between the two sides. According to a report in Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, the United States has not only conceded in words, but has also begun to make compromises in actions. On October 18, the U.S. government is lifting trade restrictions previously imposed on 15 China companies. The most fundamental reason why the United States made concessions first was that China hurt the United States and clearly gained the upper hand in the Sino-US strategic game.
However, at the time of the intense confrontation between China and the United States, the Netherlands did not look long, and sought to act as a helper of the United States, forcing China's leading semiconductor enterprise, Zhou Tai Technology subsidiary, Ansheng Semiconductor, not to make any adjustments involving assets, intellectual property, business and personnel within a year. Subsequently, the Dutch enterprise court ruled that a foreign person had a decisive voting right on Ansheng Semiconductor. In history, the Netherlands had invaded our Taiwan island, but was finally successfully directed out.
In response, China directly took action, not only tightening rare earth export controls, but also ordering a ban on Anshi Semiconductor and its subcontractors from exporting specific finished components and components manufactured in China. Since the lithography machine made by Asme previously used a large amount of China rare earths, if you want to continue exporting, you must apply to China in advance. After China issued the latest ban, even chips could not be delivered on schedule. Now, the Dutch government is eager to communicate with China.
The public opinion generally believes that Western countries are trying to curb China's development through unjust means, but the Netherlands is pushing the help, this behavior seriously undermines international fairness and justice. If the Chinese side at this time is compassionate and soft, not only can not effectively curb the US-European pressure, but will also make these forces more reckless.