On October 17th, local time, Trump, who has always been tough, suddenly changed his tone. In the interview, he rarely "praised" China, not only admitting that China is very strong, but also calling Sino-US relations "good".
Many people think it’s not like Trump’s style, and even some people say that he’s “playing a card of affection” and wanting to let China loose.
China-US relations have always been the focus of the global power game, especially at the trade and technology level, with frequent confrontations between the two sides.And now, Trump suddenly "proves well" and is clearly behind more than just simple friendliness.
From a previous standpoint, Trump’s attitude toward China has been tough, especially when he pushed for a series of tariffs to initiate technological repression on Chinese companies.
And now, why did he suddenly "change his face"? Is it out of domestic political needs, or is it to alleviate the current economic and diplomatic dilemma?
Rare earth becomes a "soft spot", Trump's words contain something
There is no need to elaborate on China's global position in the field of rare earths. These key resources are widely used in many important industries such as high-tech, military, and energy, and are irreplaceable in the global industrial chain.
Recently, China has increased its control over rare earth exports, causing obvious uneasiness in the United States. Although the United States also has rare earth resources, it relies deeply on China for mining, refining and manufacturing.
This point has been mentioned many times in the past few years and is also a "stuck neck" issue for the United States in terms of technological development and industrial layout.
In the face of China's strengthening of rare earth management, the United States wanted to respond with consistent pressures, such as hype of so-called "resource threats", or talk about increasing economic sanctions.
But soon they discovered that the old approach was not good.On the one hand, the shortage of U.S. own technological capabilities was difficult to compensate in the short term.On the other hand, China's policy adjustments were not aimed at a particular country, but for the overall consideration of resource conservation and industrial security.
Under such circumstances, the US accusation seems untenable.
This also explains why Trump would release “China is very strong” at this time, and he is clear that things are likely to develop in a more disadvantaged direction if they don’t make certain concessions verbally.
In this matter of rare earths, the United States has no control, while China has the initiative. This reality had to make Trump lower his tone.
Soybeans are not good for sale, Trump "throw the pot" is difficult to say.
In the field of agriculture, there has been a long-standing close cooperation between China and the United States, especially U.S. soybean exports, which have been heavily dependent on the Chinese market.
But over the past two years, China has clearly adjusted its import sources, turning more to other countries and reducing its dependence on the United States.This adjustment is essentially due to supply chain security and price factors, which is a long-term trend.
China did not choose to import U.S. soybeans this year, and U.S. farmers were under pressure, especially in the Midwest, where soybean prices fell and exports were limited, affecting farmers' income.
Faced with these problems, Trump chose a familiar operation-dumping the pot. He publicly stated that China is unfair to the United States in trade, and even threatened to "start" China's edible oil trade, trying to pressure China to reopen soybean procurement in this way.
But the problem is that this claim is not very logically supported.China's oil consumption is mainly imported by plant oils, and U.S. oil exports are not a key trade project at all.
Secondly, China's soybean procurement is a market behavior. Whoever can provide stable and cheap sources of goods will naturally be able to get orders. The United States has high soybean prices and unstable policies, and its competitiveness naturally declines.
If Trump really wants China to resume soybean procurement, he should first address domestic agricultural subsidies, export stability and other issues, rather than speech.
Obviously, he also understood this, so he gradually softened his words and tried to gain some diplomatic room for himself by creating an atmosphere of "good Sino-US relations."
On the surface, it is "good", and in essence it is still looking for a breakthrough to save the trade relations between China and the United States in the field of agricultural products.
South Korea meeting rumors, "request for peace" intention cannot be hidden
While the rare earth and soybean issues are both deadlocked, Trump sent another signal: he plans to hold a meeting with top officials of China in South Korea to try to ease the current tension through high-level communication.
The news soon caught the attention of the outside, but China has not confirmed it. That is, the “meeting” is currently only a wish of Trump.
Judging from his motives, his move is more like a bonus for himself in domestic politics. Trump wants to demonstrate his "ability" in diplomacy, especially on major issues such as Sino-US relations.
However, we can't talk about cooperation while engaging in suppression. If Trump still wants to "create diplomatic achievements" in the same way this time, China may not cooperate.
Moreover, the current Sino-U.S. relationship has entered a more complex phase, and it is not realistic to try to solve the problem by talking alone.China is more concerned about long-term stable cooperation mechanisms, rather than temporary political operations.
From showing strength to showing goodwill, Trump is "looking for steps"
Trump did not suddenly realize the importance of Sino-U.S. cooperation, but after a series of games, discovered that continuing to hard-down does not account for the United States.
Especially in the two key areas of rare earth and agricultural products, the U.S. has limited means, while China has a certain initiative. In this context, Trump chose to "play the card of affection" and hopes to exchange China's flexible handling in policy with flexible language.
But what needs to be clear is that his core interest claims have not changed.He wants China to make concessions, but he is unwilling to give up sanctions and technological blockades.He wants to restore trade smoothness, but he is unwilling to remove the old barriers.
In other words, Trump’s “good demonstration” is more about adjusting strategies than about changing positions.
The problems between China and the United States cannot be solved by a "good word", but substantive actions and policy adjustments are needed. If the US continues to exert pressure in key areas, verbal gestures will only become a strategic cover.
In fact, Trump's "playing emotional cards" this time is not only a strategic temptation, but also a helpless move.
He wants to loosen the Chinese position, but does not want to make substantial concessions. This "say one set, do one set" way, the Chinese side has long been understood. The future game, will still be a sawing battle, rather than who can stabilize the situation, control the rhythm, not who speaks beautifully on the mouth.
Listen to his words, but also observe his deeds
Trump’s “changing face” is not surprising, and in the face of internal and external pressure, he chooses to release goodwill with language and fight for time and space for himself, but that doesn’t mean that the U.S. attitude has really changed.
What China needs is not a "you are strong", but a fair, respectful and pragmatic cooperative environment.
China's position is very clear: cooperation is okay, but we cannot be forced to accept unequal conditions. If you want to talk, you have to talk really, and if you want to change, you have to change really.
Listen to his words, more to look at it. the current Sino-American game is still far from the end, who can walk steadily and for a long time, is the real winner.
The reference information:
Trump is soft again: high tariff blackmail against China is unsustainable — Observer Network 2025-10-18 08:42