Democrats Can't Save China From President Trump
(Baonghean.vn) - According to the latest results, the Democratic Party has gathered enough votes to take control of the House of Representatives. This is considered a heavy blow to President Donald Trump's domestic agenda. But if anxious politicians in Beijing think this means the US will cancel the tariffs, they should think again.
China is one of the few policy areas where there is consensus in both houses of Congress. Democrats broadly agree that the United States needs to take a tougher stance against the rising power across a range of areas, from military and trade to intelligence and diplomacy.
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| The Democratic victory in the House of Representatives cannot help cool down the US-China trade war. Photo: AP |
Hoping for a resolution to the trade war that is weighing on China's economy, there is a thought in the Asian nation that the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives might take a softer line on Beijing.
Analyst Nick Marro from the Economist Intelligence Unit commented that this thinking is wrong because historically the Democratic Party has always supported labor unions and has been less supportive of unrestricted free trade.
“It’s unlikely they’ll push for a larger trade engagement with China,” Mr. Marro said. Even if the House wanted to, the power to impose tariffs on China essentially rests with the executive branch, which is President Trump.
If the White House boss needs support from Congress regarding future China policy, there are few signs that Democrats will stand in his way.
This is bad news for Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is trying to placate an increasingly hostile US administration after his efforts to offer flattery and friendly gestures in the early months of Trump’s presidency failed to bear fruit. Xi faces a rare wave of criticism from within the Chinese Communist Party over his handling of tensions with the US, said Willy Lam, a political analyst at Hong Kong’s Centre for China Studies.
"He has been widely criticized, not by name but in a subtle way, for not being able to respond to the challenge from President Trump. He is still on the defensive," Mr. Lam said.
The US midterm elections come at a time when Beijing is increasingly frustrated in its approach to dealing with the increasingly hostile Trump administration.
Last week, the Politburo of the Communist Party of China, one of the country's highest decision-making bodies, issued a statement for the first time acknowledging "growing pressure" on the economy./.
