Seriously, Can Trump Handles The Dragon?

Does Trump really what to do with China?

Apparently the answer is yes to the Trump empire, but not to the rest rest of the world.

Trump already got all the intellectual rights from China by calling Taiwan the first he enetered the Whitehouse, and then simply said he endorsed "one Chine Policy".

As for the rest of the world, especially China's little neighbouring countries involved in the dispute of the South China Sea ... One will have a better chance of getting an answer by asking the mirror on the wall.

How Trump can solve his Chinese puzzle

Getting tough with China is a central part of President Donald Trump's plan to "make America great again". During the election campaign, he claimed that China was "raping" American industry.

Since the election, he and senior aides have denounced Chinese policies over trade, North Korea and the South China Sea.

These facts alone would make Mr Trump's summit meeting this week with China's President Xi Jinping very difficult. It is not that confrontation with China should be feared for its own sake.

The real danger is that Mr Trump's China policies are likely to be counterproductive, damaging America's prosperity and endangering its security, while hastening the rise of China.

Mr Trump's erratic approach to security issues scares American allies, making them less likely to stand with the United States if it confronts China over North Korea or the South China Sea.

At the same time, the President's protectionism, demonstrated by his decision to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, will reduce America's economic role in Asia. As a result, America's traditional partners in the region will increasingly be tempted to look to Beijing, rather than Washington, for a lead.

The underlying problem is that a tough-guy approach to Asia belongs to a bygone age when America's economic and strategic dominance was unquestioned.

The rise of China has changed the balance of power in the region.

The US needs the help of allies and trading partners to manage a more assertive China - the very allies Mr Trump's policies threaten to alienate.

China is now the world's largest manufacturer, largest exporter and largest market for vehicles, smartphones and oil.

In 2014, the International Monetary Fund announced that China had become the largest economy in the world, measured by purchasing power.

By then, China had also become the biggest export market for 43 countries in the world; the US was the biggest market for just 32 countries. And this year, Germany announced that China is now its largest trading partner.

This shift of economic power, a process I call "easternisation", has increased China's geopolitical clout. All of America's most important partners in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Australia and South Korea, still look to the US for protection.

But their most important economic relationships are all now with China. That gives Beijing real leverage, which Mr Xi's government is increasingly prepared to use.

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