President Donald Trump is nearing the end of his patience with Russia and China, author and Asia expert Gordon Chang told Newsmax, warning Sunday that the latest geopolitical maneuvers are forcing the United States and its allies into sharper alignment.
"At some point, I think that Trump is going to lose his patience, and that point is probably pretty close, because, especially in the last week, we have seen signs that Trump is angry at what we saw," Chang said on Newsmax's "Sunday Report."
"Also, just remember, Russia launched its largest aerial assault on Ukraine ever, and it hit government buildings in Kyiv for the first time," he added. "That's not going to make Trump happy."
The comments came after a summit that brought together Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a public show of unity that raised alarms in Washington.
Former CIA analyst Fred Fleitz, also on Sunday's program, said the gathering was more posturing than substance, noting that deep territorial disputes remain between China and India despite appearances of cooperation.
Trump, meanwhile, has called on Europe to intensify economic pressure on Beijing for its support of Moscow, pointing to Europe's heavy purchases of Russian energy.
Fleitz pointed out that Europe spent $71.1 billion on Russian gas last year, drawing sharp criticism from Trump, who insisted U.S. allies must shoulder more of the burden in countering both Russia and China.
Chang said that Putin's deepening energy ties with Beijing will ultimately backfire, pushing Europe closer to Washington.
"Clearly, Trump is going to corral Europe," Chang said. "The reason is that Putin is going to push Europe even closer to the United States and closer to Ukraine, because we are seeing Putin and Xi Jinping not taking the off-ramps that President Trump has been giving them. He's been very generous in trying to solve this."
At the same time, Chang warned that China's internal instability is driving its aggressive posture abroad.
"China right now is very arrogant, but it's also insecure because you have infighting at the top of the Communist Party," he said.
"We don't know exactly what's happening, but there are signs that are inconsistent with the notion of stability. And whenever that happens, you don't have a regime that is going to deal constructively with the United States or with anybody else, for that matter," Chang added.
That uncertainty will likely keep tensions high in the coming months, he said, adding that he expects that China will be "very difficult to deal with until this instability is over."
"Probably, we will see at least some clarity after the Communist Party's Fourth Plenum, which is scheduled for next month," Chang said. "Maybe after that we'll see something, especially if Trump and Xi meet each other in South Korea at the APEC summit at the end of October and the beginning of November."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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