Opinion | Donald Trump’s China trade talk is all about politics, not real policy reform

Robert Delaney says the US president has shifted his blame for the American trade deficit from China to past presidents in order to stir the domestic political arguments he thrives on

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US President Donald Trump holds up his glass as Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte (not pictured) gives a toast at an Asean Summit dinner on November 12, in Manila. Photo: AP

Published: 12:40pm, 13 Nov 2017Updated: 7:23pm, 13 Nov 2017

US President Donald Trump doesn’t need The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board on his case, but perhaps the flattery he received in Beijing emboldened him to ignore growing political problems back at home.

Trump’s vow in Beijing to change US trade policies and his outcry in Vietnam against multilateral trade agreements raise more questions than answers.

One stands out: does he think he can tread on the interests of US multinationals and their shareholders who profit from made-in-China goods in America?

One of the most provocative moments on Trump’s 12-day tour of Asia came when he said he blamed his immediate White House predecessors, not Beijing, for the steadily growing US-China trade imbalance.

US President Donald Trump (left row, centre) conducts talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right row, centre) in Hanoi, on November 12, during his official visit to Vietnam, where he also attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting in Da Nang. Photo: EPA-EFE

Markets have not given Trump a free pass – far from it

Why, he asked, would China not exploit its low-cost manufacturing advantage and other loopholes to close the gap with the US in economic might and sophistication?

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