China's long history of broken promises should caution President Donald Trump as he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and any short-term trade truce may help both sides briefly but reveal Beijing's growing dependence on the U.S. and its habit of walking away from commitments, author and China expert Gordon Chang told Newsmax on Tuesday.
"Well, I think there will be a truce for a little while," Chang told Newsmax's "Wake Up America," adding he's concerned that the United States has a history of giving concessions to China "in return for promises that the Chinese eventually dishonor."
For example, he said, in January 2020, China "openly violated" the phase one trade deal, which likely had a material effect on the outcome of that year's presidential election.
"We know what the Chinese playbook is," said Chang. "It is to tell us what we want to hear, to make Treasury secretaries happy, and then to dishonor their promises."
The Trump–Xi meeting is expected to produce a limited trade truce that could benefit both countries temporarily, said Chang.
Trump's policies, he noted, have strengthened the U.S. economy while isolating China through new trade partnerships and supply chain diversification.
"For us, the importance is that they're going to come to a trade truce with China, and this is going to buy both countries a year or so," he said.
"I think this is going to be a very good year for America, because we've seen President Trump throughout this year make us stronger with these trade deals that exclude China, isolate the Chinese, also with these rare earth deals, which lessen our dependence on China's position in the supply chain," Chang continued.
He also contrasted Trump's economic strategy with Xi's industrial policy, which he said makes China "more dependent on exports" and "more dependent on the American market," noting that the U.S. accounts for "about 34% of global consumer spending."
He also said Trump's Indo-Pacific trip underscores America's continued leadership in the region.
"Sunday was a great day for American diplomacy," Chang said, pointing to Trump's new agreements with Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Thailand, along with an "enhanced ceasefire agreement" between Thailand and Cambodia.
"This was a conflict in China's backyard, and China had almost no role in settling it," he said. "The person who got it done with his tariff threats was President Trump."
Chang said the developments demonstrate that the United States, and not China, remains the dominant global power.
"Xi Jinping believes we're finished," he said, "but he's living in a world which does not correspond to reality."
"It's President Trump who is the one who is actually changing events throughout the world, and not just in Southeast Asia," insisted Chang.
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