A former Biden administration official responsible for US policy on China warns that simultaneous trade attacks on Trump and dozens of countries could give China an edge on the world stage.
“The fact that the administration opposed nearly 70 countries at once makes us worry that it actually improved China’s position,” Rick Waters, deputy director of China’s Secretary of State in the last administration, told NBC News.
“If you chase your friends more vigorously than your opponent, you lose the leverage of taking those friends to your side and improving your position with your main competitor,” Waters told NBC News.
He said China has been “deeping for a long time.” He added that Beijing has other measures to hurt the US in return, such as stopping fentanyl cooperation.
“I think we’re just in a bad marriage that leads to some kind of financial divorce,” he said.
China is much more dependent on exports to the US than the other way around, but he said the US doubled tariffs on China would not force Beijing’s hands. “The Chinese are proud. They have a history of humiliation in the hands of foreign powers.”