The News
A return to the pre-trade war status quo between the US and China is “inconceivable” under the Donald Trump administration, a top geopolitical analyst said Thursday.
Washington’s efforts to make trade deals with other countries that isolate China have rankled Beijing and made the relationship “not fixable,” Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer said at Semafor’s World Economy Summit.
“I don’t see this Chinese government finding its way to yes with the United States anytime soon,” he said. “Their senior leadership considers present tariff levels a joke, and I use that word literally.”
His comments came as the US and China sent contradictory signals over the status of trade talks — Beijing said negotiations aren’t happening, after Trump said the countries are “actively” talking.
The White House has softened its stance on Beijing in recent days, strengthening Chinese leaders’ belief that Trump will eventually back down, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Semafor View
European markets have suffered from a lack of competitiveness with the US and China, with just a handful of tech startups to come out of the continent. But countries everywhere are facing similar business challenges as they transition to cleaner energy and chase technological dominance.