Donald Trump is the first president who tweets on foreign policy matters. The former business man is learning the hard way that personal charm and charisma or tweets are not a substitute for hard diplomacy. He has recently tweeted that he is disappointed with China for not reining in the missile program of North Korea.
This realization has now dawned on Trump. The President has threatened that he won’t allow China to get away and would use the trade weapon to force China to act.There is no doubt that China can halt the nuclear program of North Korea but what is the incentive to do this?
All the overtures by Trump and statements praising President Xi have led nowhere. This news is reported by CNN International.
I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017
China supports the North
Last Friday, North Korea tested a missile in a blatant violation of the Security Council resolutions. The was the second missile test in a month. Kim Jong-un has hailed his missile program and said that it is essential for the security of his regime.
China along with Russia stated on Saturday condemning the missile launch.This been the view of both Russia and China but as per figures published by China, trade between the two nations has increased by over 10% this year over a similar period last year.
This shows that China is not going to abandon its ally of over seven decades.
...they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk. We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017
Trump and China
Trump is in a bind as far as China is concerned.
He cannot agree to the Chinese proposal to stop the military exercises in the region as a quid pro quo for the North suspending its missile and nuclear program. He has chosen to respond to the North Korean action by a Show Of Force. A carrier task force has been positioned close to the North Korean waters, and B-1 long range strategic bombers have flown over the Korean peninsula.
Military experts are not sure whether this show of force is leading anywhere as the North is not cowed down.
Trade and China
With his charm not working on President Xi even after his invite to him to his personal resort in Florida, the President has come face to face with reality. He has tweeted that China has unfairly earned billions of dollars by taking the USA for a ride and has gone on to blame previous presidents, who allowed China to mint billions of dollars by giving it favorable trade terms.
The President has not specified how he plans to teach China a lesson by a trade embargo.The fact is the USA has very little to offer China, and any trade embargo will harm the USA as well, and Trump cannot afford it. Also, his show of force by flying bombers and moving warships has not affected the Korean regime, which has called his bluff.
