Sensing vulnerability, China turns up the heat on Trump – Washington Examiner

With its announcement on Friday of new 5-10% tariffs on $75 billion in U.S. goods, China is escalating pressure on President Trump. Xi Jinping senses that Trump is increasingly desperate for a trade deal. He believes he can cajole Trump into making a more China-friendly trade deal.

Trump’s response on Friday has been mixed.

While his latest attack on Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell — questioning whether Powell is more of an enemy than Xi Jinping — is idiotic, Trump is right to point out the central threat of Chinese intellectual property theft. He is also right to threaten to escalate U.S. tariffs further. Strength of resolve is the only way to deter Xi. And U.S. threats aren’t so easy for the Chinese leader to ignore. After all, China’s economy is in significant trouble, more so than is publicly known.

Moreover, it’s not like Trump has many choices of how to respond in the face of such blatant Chinese escalation. He cannot yield to Beijing on the most critical concerns of technology transfers, either forced or stolen, at this point. Those are the crown jewels of the U.S. economy and the foundations of our future economic prosperity. He’d also look like a weakling.

Yes, the markets are falling. Yes, the risks here are significant. But Trump is right to push back hard against Xi. That’s the surest way to get a near-term trade deal, which works for both nations. Kneeling to Xi is a recipe only for U.S. disaster.