Advertisement

China ‘should not be misled’ by Trump bluster but watch out for real intent

Top Chinese observers speaking at a Beijing forum offer advice on how China might approach four more years of a Trump presidency

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
8
Despite the rhetoric targeting China, US president-elect Donald Trump has said Chinese President Xi Jinping and he would “probably get along very well”. Photo: Reuters
Orange Wangin Beijing
China should call the bluff on Donald Trump’s bluster, while remaining clear-sighted about his true intentions and capabilities, leading Chinese observers have advised.
Advertisement

Trump, who is days away from returning to the White House, might even have “overestimated” his strength and standing, one of them argued.

Wang Jisi, founding president of the Institute of International and Strategic Studies at Peking University, said on Sunday that Trump’s remarks reflected his deal-making approach as a real estate tycoon – with inflated demands that concealed his true intent.
“We need to be vigilant about this … we should not be misled by him,” Wang said at a forum in Beijing on US-China relations and the global order under Trump 2.0.

“You must look at what he really wants to do in the end. Also, even if he wants to do something, [the question is] whether he can do it or not,” he said at the event hosted by Tsinghua University’s Institute of International Relations.

02:02

Citing China, Trump won’t rule out using military to reclaim Panama Canal and buying Greenland

Citing China, Trump won’t rule out using military to reclaim Panama Canal and buying Greenland

Trump will be officially sworn in on January 20.

loading
Advertisement