As U.S. and Chinese officials prepare to meet this weekend in Switzerland, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax on Wednesday that President Donald Trump's tariffs are just one part of a broader campaign to halt what he called China's bad behavior.
Holt said that Trump's tough trade policies against China are just one facet of a larger strategy aimed at ending a range of malign activities by the Chinese Communist Party.
Appearing on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren," Holt said the high-stakes meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials will likely feature a stark contrast between public rhetoric and private negotiation.
"They're going to make a lot of bluster outside in front of the cameras," Holt said. "But they'll be hat in hand inside, and they're not going to bring enough."
"They're going to offer some curtailment of the fentanyl stuff. They might offer to curtail some of their espionage [intellectual property] activities," he added. "It won't be enough."
The meeting is the first since Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on China. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are scheduled to lead the U.S. delegation, with "de-escalation" expected to be a key agenda item, according to The Associated Press.
Holt, who formerly served as the U.S. deputy military representative to NATO, emphasized that Trump's actions go far beyond trade.
"This thing that President Trump has been doing with tariffs to get free and better fair trade — that's a very different thing," Holt said. "In the case of China, this is about so much more than trade. And this really is the tip of the spear."
"Right now, President Trump has a boot on the throat for Chinese bad behavior," Holt added.
Pressed to define what he meant by "more than trade," Holt cited a range of serious accusations against Beijing.
"It's fentanyl. It's the espionage in our system. It's [the] infiltration of our system. It's disregard of the [World Trade Organization] rules in their entirety and then coercing partners and allies around the world," Holt said. "It's infiltrating the swamp. Extortion, blackmail, bribery."
"President Trump is looking right at the [Chinese Communist Party] saying 'this stops now—or you stop,'" he said.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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