China's economy is "in big trouble," and Beijing's dependence on U.S. markets has left it in a precarious position amid ongoing tensions between Washington and Beijing, former Trump administration official KT McFarland told Newsmax.
While some areas of cooperation might be possible, such as on the fentanyl scourge, the broader economic and strategic standoff between the two nations is far from resolved, she said.
"So, I think there's low-hanging fruit and high-hanging fruit," McFarland told Newsmax's "Newsline," Monday.
"The low-hanging fruit is some kind of a deal on fentanyl, where the Chinese promise, maybe they don't deliver, but they promise, not to send fentanyl into the United States. And maybe we allow some tariffs to be lifted."
President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday in South Korea.
Negotiators from the world's two largest economies hashed out a framework on Sunday for a deal to pause steeper American tariffs and Chinese rare earths export controls, U.S. officials said.
The news sent Asian stocks soaring to record highs.
"I've got a lot of respect for President Xi and I think we're going to come away with a deal," Trump told reporters on Air Force One before landing in Tokyo.
McFarland noted that while limited agreements could help ease short-term tensions, the deeper issue lies in the economic interdependence binding the two nations.
"At the end of the day, the big issue between the two of us is we're almost locked in this mutually assured destruction grip," she said.
"On one hand, the Chinese need to export to our market. Without exports to the United States, the Chinese economy is finished. It's in big trouble.
"We're the world's biggest market. We're their biggest market. They have to sell goods to us."
She added that while the United States remains dependent on China for critical materials and manufacturing, the Trump administration is working to reverse that trend.
"On the other hand, we have to buy from them, at least for now — rare earth minerals, magnets, and some pharmaceuticals. We don't make that stuff anymore," McFarland said. "We used to; we could again.
"And President Trump is putting us in that sort of operation warp speed to do it again."
According to McFarland, reducing U.S. reliance on Chinese manufacturing, particularly in areas tied to national security and health, is a central focus of Trump's economic strategy.
"Those elements of critical rare earth minerals, magnets, and pharmaceuticals — they're essential for our national security and our health security," she said.
"So, can we find a deal somewhere on those two big issues? Maybe.
"But at the same time, the long-range plan of the Trump administration is to, with all deliberate speed, get back into the business of making rare earth minerals, magnets — the things that are essential to our national security — so we can't be blackmailed by China."
U.S.–China relations have remained strained over trade, technology, and military competition in the Indo-Pacific.
Analysts note that both sides have strong incentives to stabilize ties, but fundamental disagreements continue to define the relationship.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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