Boy, I’ll tell you what, you’d be hard pressed to find anything funnier than Chinese state propaganda (as disseminated via the Politburo’s army of media mouthpieces) deciphered for English speaking netizens via Google translate.
As you can imagine, Beijing has been keen on flooding the domestic airwaves with posturing and reassurances in the face of this week’s escalations in the trade spat with Washington.
Tit-for-tat tariffs were all anyone wanted to talk about on Wednesday after China struck back against the Trump administration just hours after the USTR published a list of products the U.S. plans to hit as part of Lighthizer’s 301 investigation.
News of China’s counterattack hit at roughly 3:45 a.m. ET and rippled through global markets, sending stocks plunging and catalyzing a safe haven bid that mercifully subsided during U.S. trading thanks, at least in part, to conciliatory rhetoric from Larry fucking Kudlow and the reassurances of Wilbur Ross’s animate remains which were wheeled out of his crypt for an interview with CNBC.
Does this make you feel better?
How about this?
I know. It’s sooo bad, you guys.
Anyway, things have seemingly calmed down a bit on Thursday and China’s commerce ministry says it’s interested in having a little chat with the U.S. about the steel and aluminum tariffs. China has filed a WTO complaint against those measures, according to a statement posted on the ministry’s website last night and amusingly, China is now saying they are “protecting the global system of trade.”
That is yet another manifestation of Trump inadvertently ceding global leadership to Xi by adopting “strategies” (if that’s what you want to call them), that isolate America in a world that is increasingly interconnected.
Well getting back to what we said here at the outset about state propaganda in China and how truly hilarious it is when you run it through Google translate, do yourself a favor on Thursday and read the following piece published in the People’s Daily, where one “Ren Mingwang” talks about “brave swords”, The Guardian, Trump tweets, blind men riding in Hummers, evil spirits, “true truth”, and other pressing matters…
Via The People’s Daily
The United States responded! After China decided to impose tariffs on 14 categories of 106 items such as soybeans, automobiles and chemicals in the US, US President Trump posted on Twitter: “We are not fighting a trade with China.” The meticulous British “Guardian” found that contradictory before and after this position. One month ago, Trump said on Twitter that for countries with high trade deficits in the United States, trade wars are “good things” and they are “easy to win”.
The U.S. side’s change of aggressiveness is rooted in the Chinese’s firm belief in “following the end”. In the United States, I picked up protectionism sticks. After the US$50 billion taxation list was opened, China officially launched its sword in less than 24 hours, releasing similar countermeasures and the same scale of countermeasures, pointing to the U.S. economy. Inch, and appealed to the WTO in accordance with international rules. As some commentators have said, “The speed of counterattack, the fierceness and the determination are not even thought of by the Americans themselves.” It is ironic that the situation is like a “deep pool at night,” but the U.S. government still In “The Blind Man Riding a Hummer,” US Secretary of Commerce Ross said unexpectedly that “Wall Street is so amazed and frankly, I am a bit surprised.” The American senior officials felt “unexpected” about this citizenship, which really surprised the global observers.
With regard to the pros and cons of this U.S.-sponsored trade dispute, as Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kuang Shuang said, “All that has been said is almost the same.” In order to remind Trump of forgetfulness, the author took the trouble to review it a little.
Can the U.S. tariff offensive solve the Sino-U.S. trade surplus? Regardless of trade statistics, transit trade, service trade and other reasons, the economic structure of the United States with low savings and high consumption has roots decided that it has a deficit in global trade, not only with China, but also with many other countries. Moreover, the surplus of trade surplus is determined by market forces. Man-made government intervention will not work in practice and is not theoretically feasible.
Does the United States impose tariffs that will help increase domestic employment and the interests of voters? There is no industry with comparative advantage in the United States. Even if a large company such as Apple removes the production chain from China, jobs will not flow back to the United States. Steve Handshuh, president of the American Automobile and Auto Accessories Manufacturers Association, also pointed out that the new tariffs will damage the auto parts industry and the 871,000 jobs directly created by the industry. In order to let the President see his worries, an American farmer also devoted himself to advertising and tried hard to persuade Trump to “change his mind.” It can be seen that the American people do not want to be the “victim” of the trade war. “Which groups of U.S. people are most injured in the trade war with China? They are low-income consumers, industrial workers, and farmers. These people are exactly Trump’s main supporters.” The American columnist Jennifer Rubin’s warning is not Alarmist.
Has the U.S. recently held a trade protectionism stick show that will help strengthen global leadership? No one will choose a leader who lacks credibility, let alone a country. The “New York Times” analysis stated that the Trump administration has given up for decades to move toward open markets and world economic integration, and instead adopted a more explicit protectionist approach, setting up obstacles around the US fortress. Will further isolate the United States. We must know that history has already proved that under the tide of globalization, protectionism, unilateralism, and egoism are the old roads that are not the way out. To obstinately misunderstand is a dead end that has no prospect.
With so many malpractices, the United States has bent its own way and has not taken a good look at the root causes of its imbalanced economic structure and declining vitality. It did not apply drugs as early as possible. Perhaps as Yale Senior Researcher and former Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, Stephen Roach said, American politicians It has been found that it is easier to blame others and it is easier to accuse China. However, China is not a soft persimmon. “China does not want to fight a trade war, but China is not afraid to fight a trade war.” Because China has the largest consumer market, the world’s largest growth momentum, and a resilient economy, once it starts a trade war, it will certainly have an impact on China. “But we can afford it.” The unanimous statement of China’s official media and folk media has also shown that the whole country is consistent and has made every preparation.
However, the United States has provoked a trade war and China can afford it, but the world will suffer. The key to the United States arousing a crusade against the world is that the trade war may trigger a “domino effect.” According to a study by the Brookings Institution in the United States, if a small-scale trade war breaks out globally, that is, if the tariff increases by 10%, the GDP of most economies will decrease by 1% to 4.5%, of which US GDP will lose 1.3%; if a serious trade war breaks out, That is, the tariff will increase by 40%, and the global economy will reproduce the Great Depression of the 1930s. If the United States arbitrarily acts and acts arbitrarily, it must bear the historical responsibility of the war.
Regarding the so-called trade war between China and the United States, the Chinese do not believe in evil spirits and are not afraid of ghosts. We have dignity, self-confidence, and emboldenedness. When we hit hard, we have a hard time. When the truth is true, the sword will be brightened until the final victory. .
All else equal, the more arrogant one cannot see so well.
I am quite certain that the whole trade war is only a public relations war of words, where both Xi and Trump will pound their chests, negotiate away the majority of the tariff proposals, keep a few for show, and claim victory for their respective countries. Yawn.
still yawning?