BEIJING ¨C U.S. President Donald Trump believes he is about to score yet another big win on trade, this time with China. Progress in talks with Beijing, he claims, has been so ¡°substantial¡± that he¡¯s delayed a looming March 1 deadline and is likely headed for a summit with China¡¯s President Xi Jinping to finalize a long-awaited settlement.
This latest ¡°win,¡± however, is shaping up to be a typical Trump victory ¡ª much, much more smoke than fire. And the potential consequences could be costly: long-term damage to U.S. credibility with China and, more broadly, within the entire global economic order.
So far, Trump¡¯s negotiators appear to have made headway on large-scale Chinese purchases of American goods to narrow the trade deficit, some market-opening measures for U.S. companies, a pledge not to manipulate the yuan and perhaps better protection for U.S. intellectual property.
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