via thedailybeast:
Xi Jinping, the Chinese ruler, is in no position to negotiate in good faith with the U.S., in large part due to Communist Party politics. Trump, therefore, has to either abandon his ambitious trade goals or push Beijing to the edge of the cliff.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met Xi on Friday and the talks head for Washington next week.
“I hope you can make persistent efforts to push forward an agreement that can benefit both sides,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster China Central Television. “We all think that in terms of maintaining the prosperity and stability of the world, as well as promoting global economic prosperity and development, our two countries share broad mutual interest.”
China and the U.S. “share broad mutual interest”? Actually, both countries, at far different stages of economic development, do not.
Wringing back much of our technology stack might take a Space Race-level effort, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. And given China’s increasingly imperial ambitions, probably necessary.
h/t SG