City BeatBeijing must learn to live with international scrutiny of Hong Kong as Trump presidency tests US-China ties
- A war of words has erupted between America’s top envoy to the city, Kurt Tong, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and both local and national officials may need to get used to such clashes
How much better, or worse, can China-US relations get? It’s a question many are asking, Hong Kong included, because every up and down can directly or indirectly affect this city, politically and economically.
With the collapse of the much-anticipated Hanoi summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the whole world is asking how and why the two could have misread each other so much, and what the next step will be.
Trump, however, won applause from many back home for walking away from a “bad deal”.
China, which is still locked in tough trade talks with the US, but plays a significant role in facilitating the Trump-Kim relationship building, must have immediately reviewed the potential impact of the collapsed summit on the Mar-a-Lago meeting planned between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“I’m never afraid to walk from a deal. And I would do that too with China if it didn’t work out,” Trump claimed at his press conference in Hanoi before flying back to Washington last Thursday.