Just before Trump left for Asia, the American media broke out a medium-sized "big news": he was preparing to re-launch a trade investigation into China.
This happened suddenly, but it was not surprising. Especially considering that the "highlight" of this trip to Asia is a high-level meeting between China and the United States.
The atmosphere should have eased, and the two sides should also find some consensus in the complex global situation, but Trump's "sudden move" suddenly made the originally not easy negotiating atmosphere more delicate.
Clearly speaking, it was cooperation, but behind it was the preparation to deliver the knife, which has appeared more than once in his diplomatic script.
The route of this visit seems quite rich, including Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, but the visits to these countries are more like "stopping by". What really attracts people's attention is the bilateral talks he may have with China during the APEC meeting in South Korea.
The White House attached great importance to the meeting, saying it was a "fruitful" arrangement and seemed to have tacitly acknowledged that it was a diplomatic victory. However, what is puzzling is that the United States has promoted the positive significance of the talks in a high-profile manner, while secretly preparing to investigate China. The logic behind and behind is a bit confusing.
In fact, since mid-October, the United States has been constantly issuing rumors that China and the United States will meet in South Korea, in the words are creating a "we are ready" atmosphere.
This approach is not indifferent, but prudent. After all, after so many years of confrontation, China is very clear that the United States '"forerunner" approach is mostly paving the way for subsequent pressure.
In fact, the media explosions followed the pace.The Trump administration is said to be prepared to excuse China for failing to fulfill its earlier trade commitments, and to bring trade investigations back to the scene.
This so-called "commitment" is actually an agreement reached between China and the United States under a complicated background a few years ago. The content is that China will increase its purchases of American products within a certain period of time.
But everyone knows that in the past few years, the global economy has changed too much, too much uncertainty, and the implementation of the agreement is not easy.The U.S. side at this time rebuilt the account, to say nothing, is to want to take a moral pioneer before the meeting, take the initiative in their own hands.
This is not the first time Trump has seen this "talk while pressure" approach in the past. His thinking is very practical and direct: negotiations are not to reach consensus, but to lower prices and compete for profits, and gain more.
If the talks yield results, then use it as political achievements; if the talks fail, you can also pass the responsibility to the other party and say that you tried your best.
Although this operation may seem a bit "tough" in the short term, in the long run, it can easily damage mutual trust and cause deeper confrontation.
The route arrangement of the Asian route, in fact, also revealed a lot of signals. Malaysia and Japan, the two stations, more like "passage", symbolic meaning more than substantive content.
The choice of meetings in the context of multilateral conferences can increase the exposure and facilitate the packaging of the results of the talks as an embodiment of "international influence".
Especially in the increasingly tense domestic political atmosphere in the United States, Trump urgently needs a "diplomatic show" to stabilize the support rate, and the meeting between the US and China is undoubtedly the most significant show.
However, judging from the current situation, this show may not go so smoothly. Trump has mentioned many times in public that he hopes this meeting can solve some "urgent issues", among which the fentanyl issue has been repeatedly emphasized by him. He said it directly, and he wanted to put this issue in the first place.
It sounds for the sake of public safety, but if you think about it, there is actually a deeper political intention behind it. The problem of drug proliferation in the United States has a long history, and it can't be solved by diplomatic means alone.
However, Trump used this issue as a bargaining chip in order to divert the attention of domestic public opinion to China.
China has long strictly controlled such substances, and has cooperated with the United States in the field of anti-drug cooperation. but now Trump has pointed his head again to China, nothing but want to fight for more initiative before the meeting, and to guide the atmosphere of dialogue in a direction that is conducive to him.
In the final analysis, this kind of "preset position" negotiation method is still the same old idea-putting pressure on you before you even start talking.
At this juncture, when the New York Times broke out, it added another chip to the table. The plan to investigate China's non-compliance with trade agreements was clearly prepared and was just waiting to be released at a "right" time.
Even if the results of the investigation have not yet been announced, this trend is enough to affect the pace of the talks. Trump's own speech also revealed a "I have taken the initiative" tone, as if he has made plans for the next step no matter how you respond.
This behavior pattern is actually nothing new. Relying on investigation and sanctions to promote negotiations, and relying on negotiation results to package political achievements, this kind of "transactional diplomacy" thinking has been deeply rooted.
But the problem is that the relationship between China and the United States cannot be resolved by one or two negotiations.
The economic ties between the two countries have already penetrated into all aspects, and the degree of interdependence is very high. With simple means of suppression, it is difficult to really solve the problem, but it is easy to make the contradiction accumulate deeper and deeper.
More realistically, China has long known this old way of the United States, and it is unlikely that it will perform again according to the script. This also explains why the Chinese side has always remained low-tone throughout the process, not rushing to respond, nor dancing at the pace of the United States.
China prefers to handle differences through pragmatic methods rather than engaging in public opinion wars or confrontational games.
From the overall arrangement of this Asian trip, Trump’s goal is very clear: on the one hand, to create a gesture of “I actively promote diplomacy”, and on the other hand, to control the pace at the negotiating table and transmit pressure to the Chinese side.
He wants the "results" of the talks, but also does not want to give up the old routine of putting pressure on China. This contradictory approach is likely to eventually turn the dialogue, which has limited opportunities, into a "political performance" in which each person talks his own words.
The United States 'style of calling for cooperation while preparing to take action is also one of the most thorny issues in current Sino-US relations. Without stable policy expectations and true sincere communication, it will be difficult for any meeting to achieve substantive breakthroughs.
What's more, the current global situation is inherently unstable, with regional conflicts and economic pressures intertwined, requiring China and the United States, two major countries, to play a constructive role. If the United States is still using "investigation" and "pressure" as the main axis of diplomacy at this time, I am afraid that not only will it not be able to negotiate a good result, but it may push the situation into a more complicated direction.
In the long run, if China and the United States want to truly solve the problem, it must be based on mutual respect and facts. Cooperation is not equal to compromise, and dialogue is not concession.
Only by showing sincerity can we find common ground. Like Trump, people who regard investigation as a negotiation tool and diplomacy as an election tool will only weaken long-term trust a little bit while creating short-term heat.
It is difficult to say whether the Asian bank will be able to take back a “diplomatic achievement” as he wants, but it is certain that China will not change its position easily because of an investigation plan, nor will it hurry to make concessions under pressure.
The relationship between China and the United States has come to this day, and it is no longer the time to solve problems by gambling and pressure.
Therefore, whether this seemingly lively visit can ultimately bring about substantial changes depends on how Trump takes every next step. If we still follow the old road, talking and pressing, laughing and knifing, then I'm afraid this "Asian diplomatic show" can only stay in the camera for a lively time, leaving no practical results.
And for the world, what is really needed is not more investigation and confrontation, but a rational, stable and constructive dialogue.
Source of information:
White House: Trump to visit Malaysia, Japan and South Korea — Observer Network 2025-10-24 08:30:35
US media: U.S. will investigate China’s compliance with 2020 trade agreement – Russia today October 24, 2025