Whose economy, the U.S. or China, is equal to the challenges faced in April 2025?
On Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent provided a meaningful insight when he said he expects to reach trade agreements with U.S. allies before pressuring China as a united front.
"There are signs that China is beginning to worry about being economically isolated," RedState's Ward Clark noted.
The Xi Jinping regime reportedly approached Australia with an offer to work together to combat U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
"We’re not about to make common cause with China," Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told Sky News on Wednesday. "We are not going to be holding hands with China in respect of any contest that is going on in the world."
[It is always important to make the distinction between China and the the Chinese Communist Party which is obsessively focused on its own power rather than the interests of the 1.4 billion Chinese people it claims to champion.]
Is the art of the Chinese Communist Party kill taking hold?
Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman posted on X: “This was brilliantly executed by Donald Trump. Textbook, Art of the Deal.”
Speaking of "Art of the Deal", the book skyrocketed on Amazon's bestseller list this week after Trump put a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs against various nations and increased tariffs against China. The book was able to hit at least the number 4 spot on Amazon's bestseller list.
Edo Naito, a commentator on Japanese politics, law, and history, wrote in a LinkedIn post:
"A bit more of 'the plan' surfaces. Yes, I know my LI feed is full of folks who do not believe any such plan ever existed, much less after this week. Some just can't get beyond the tone and rhetoric. But Bessent is pretty clear that the U.S. will first settle with its allies and friends to mitigate their U.S. deficits, and then 'approach China as a group.' That sounds like a plan. Whether it works or not remains to be seen."
The first four priority countries that will start discussions in the U.S. are Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and India."Perhaps not coincidentally, all are immediate neighbors of China,' Naito noted.
In 2024, China's trade surplus with the world surged to $1 trillion. The U.S.'s trade deficit in 2024 with the world was $1.1 trillion, with China at $295B.
So, Natio asked, "who else books a significant annual trade deficit with Beijing, who might be willing to 'approach' China in a group?"
"Many, perhaps most, folks will not know that Japan has had a global trade deficit in each of the past 4 years. Like the U.S., Japan's trade deficit with China is its largest, and it has TRIPLED to $34B in 2024 since Xi Jinping assumed office in 2012. Who else has seen deficits balloon? After the U.S. and Japan, other countries with sizeable deficits with China are India, the UK, Mexico, Vietnam, the Philippines, the EU as a whole, and ASEAN as a whole."
Naito continued: "Whether any of these countries are willing to enter into what is now an escalating trade war between the U.S. and China is not clear. No single country will want to deal with Beijing alone, so will some assume a safety in numbers mindset?"
Another argument, Naito added, "may be more appealing than trade to some. That argument says that China's rapid and massive military build-up, unprecedented in speed and scale since WWII, is being funded at least in part by its trade surpluses, so mitigating those deficits is also a matter of national security.
RedState's Ward noted about Australia:
"Could it be that they are sensing some concern on the part of China? Is China looking to firm up its other trading partners in anticipation of losing access to much of the American market? Because without the United States market, China is, to put it mildly, hurting. Despite the efforts of Democrats, we're still the world's largest economy. And President Trump is making it a mission to isolate China."
@realDonaldTrump’s 1987 book “The Art of The Deal” is today’s mover and shaker on Amazon’s bestseller list at #4! Bet there are a lot of foreign buyers frantically looking for tips on trade negotiations! pic.twitter.com/2mYHEQDubV
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) April 10, 2025
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