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Trump’s ‘America first’ and Xi Jinping’s ‘China first’: how different are they?

Patrick Mendis considers the points of agreement – and divergence – in the American and Chinese nation-building projects, particularly as both presidents today display an affinity with the more Hamiltonian ‘transactional’, rather than a ‘transformational’, approach to leadership

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Trump and his millionaire cabinet members and advisers have appeared to ignore the Jeffersonian ideals of religious freedom and human rights that have been the American trademark of “transformational” leadership in international affairs. Illustration: Craig Stephens
President Xi Jinping’s ( 習近平 ) China Dream is all about the rejuvenation of Chinese culture and its Confucian history, as if it is Beijing’s “China first” strategy to bring back the glory of the Middle Kingdom. This nationalistic approach is increasingly similar to that of the “America first” rhetoric of President Donald Trump, who has shaken the myth of “American exceptionalism” in world affairs.

Since the two presidents have now met at Trump’s “Winter White House” in Florida, it is worth revisiting these two driving concepts as Beijing itself uses America’s Hamiltonian elements in its historic development to realise the China Dream.

As George Washington’s first secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton advocated a strong centralised government, supported a national banking system, developed a naval force to protect the nation and its external trade, and embraced manufacturing and commerce for the young nation’s development strategy. This world view was different from his arch-rival Thomas Jefferson, the secretary of state. Jefferson romanticised agrarian virtues, popularised democratic sentiments in religious freedom and human rights, and the ability of the people to govern themselves at the hamlet level.

US President Donald Trump and visiting President Xi Jinping had their first face-to-face summit at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters
US President Donald Trump and visiting President Xi Jinping had their first face-to-face summit at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters

Will dream shared by Xi Jinping and Donald Trump become a nightmare?

In their first face-to-face summit meeting in Florida, Trump had all but forgotten his previous anti-China rhetoric, and, instead, showed a conciliatory tone for a more pragmatic relationship with China. The tycoon-turned-author, who knows about “the art of the deal” for “transactional” relationships, shares a Hamiltonian outlook with his Chinese counterpart, whose China Dream is driven by the transactional nature of the “One Belt, One Road” plan for Beijing’s national development.
After Mao, Deng invoked Hamiltonian-like policies ... The question is: will China ever follow the American experience of Hamiltonian means to Jeffersonian ends?
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