China Warns the Trump Regime Against Going Too Far

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

The US is used to having its way in dealings with other countries — pressuring, bullying, warning, threatening, and attacking them to push them into compliance with its demands.

What once worked most often is increasingly a less effective strategy — notably with Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, Russia and China.

These nations aren't about to subordinate their sovereignty to US interests. On Saturday, Venezuelan military personnel participated in a march of loyalty to the Bolivarian Republic along with President Maduro, shouting:

"Only the ones who fight have a right to be. You will never invade my country. Listen to us small gringo. We are ready. With weapons in our hands…we are waiting for you."

Iran wants peace, not war with the US or other countries. Its military commander General Hussein Salami said "we are in an atmosphere of a full-blown intelligence war with the US and the front of enemies of the Revolution and the Islamic system," adding: 

"This atmosphere is a combination of psychological warfare and cyber operation, military provocations, public diplomacy and intimidation tactics."

Hostile US actions toward the Islamic Republic haven't worked for 40 years — nor will they likely succeed ahead.

Following the breakdown in US trade talks with China, its Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told Pompeo by phone not to go "too far" in pushing China to go along with unacceptable Trump regime demands on trade and other issues.

According to China's Xinhau, Beijing remains willing to negotiate with Washington to resolve bilateral differences — provided US officials show good faith.

China will suspend talks if the Trump regime maintains its toughness, including unacceptable sanctions, possible further ones, and actions against tech giant Huawei, blacklisting the company and its affiliates, shutting them out of the US market for phony national security reasons, aiming to give corporate America a competitive edge.

Following its unacceptable action against Huawei, China cancelled the purchase of 3,247 metric tons of US pork, the largest cut in over a year, following other cuts earlier this year, according to the US Agriculture Department. 

Since China instituted a 25% tariff on US soybeans, exports to the country are half their earlier peak amount.

China is the world's largest consumer of soybeans, importing 88 million tons in 2018, according to the General Administration of Customs, the cut in purchases from the US hitting its agribusiness hard.

According to Iowa Soybean Association president Lindsey Greiner, "(i)f you asked me two weeks ago, I would have told you I was optimistic about a deal, but now I've just done a 180 and I'm not optimistic at all."

Things have "gone from bad to worse. I had been optimistic but last week everything blew up. It's not good for agriculture at all," including for US producers of pork and other agricultural exports to China.

National Pork Producers Council president Jim Monroe said resolution of Sino/US trade differences is the top priority for pig farmers. Because of lost sales and lower prices, "(w)e  continue to urge the administration to resolve trade disputes as quickly as possible," he stressed, adding: 

The "China deal doesn't look good at all…(A)fter (talks broke down), I don't have one ounce of optimism left in me…There's no hope of making any money" without resolution of bilateral differences.

The US tariff hike on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10 - 25%, perhaps followed by the same duty on over $300 billion more US exports to the country amounts to a large tax increase on American consumers and companies.

According to the Tax Foundation's chief economist Kyle Pomerleau, it's one of the largest tax increases in the last 20 years.

Penn-Wharton Budget Model economist Kent Smetters estimates it'll cost a US household earning $61,000 from $500 to $550 annually.

According to Oxford Economics,25% US tariffs on all Chinese goods would cost US households around $800 annually, the economy to lose about half a percent of GDP, around 360,000 fewer jobs created.

As of now, no further Sino/US talks are scheduled. Chinese Academy of Social Sciences official Tao Wenzhao said further ones are fruitless unless "the US finally wakes up," realizing that unacceptable demands on Beijing won't work.

International relations expert Jia Qingguo said "(t)he stand-off should last for a while because the US has refused to make even the slightest compromise – to a point that is somewhat unreasonable." 

Deals only work when fair to both sides. That's not how the US operates, wanting things its way, demanding other nations comply.

Eleven rounds of Sino/US talks failed to get Beijing to bend to the Trump regime's will. Nor will further talks as long as its demands remain unreasonable.

President of Huawei semiconductor affiliate HiSilicon He Tingbo  said blacklisting the company won't work. It's "been preparing for the dark moment." The action will make Huawei "even stronger," adding:

"The US has completely abandoned commercial principles and disregarded law. Its barbaric behavior against Huawei by resorting to administrative power can be viewed as a declaration of war on China in the economic and technological fields." 

"It is time that the Chinese people throw away their illusions. Compromise will not lead to US goodwill…Any measure that can bite into the US and do no harm to China can be adopted."

"The trade war launched by the US is becoming more and more like real war. At its core is the US resorts to unscrupulous means to suppress China while China is committed to crushing US arrogance." 

"The US has been telling its people that China would soon make compromises, and we must break such lies by making clear China will not sign any unequal deal."

The Peope's Daily, Beijing's official newspaper, said "China (won't accept) unreasonable (US) demands."

"(T)he Chinese nation has embarked on a journey toward the great rejuvenation. Any attempt to force China to sign an unequal treaty is not only an extreme ignorance of the modern history of China, but also a great provocation against the Chinese people."

President Xi Jinping earlier said China won't sacrifice its principles and interests. Expecting it by the US would be a major strategic blunder, adding:

Beijing won't permit the US or any other nation to impede or undermine its economic, industrial or technological development. It'll make no concessions on these core issues.

If Trump regime hardliners remain unbending, trade talks may be doomed to fail.

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