How the phase one US-China trade deal moves the world closer to a G2 global order
- As China grows in economic and military might, it has less need for multilateral institutions. Meanwhile, the US president has made his contempt for globalism clear
- In calling on American CEOs during his speech at the deal signing, Trump was letting them know who is now in charge when it comes to dispute resolution
If you didn’t want to bother poring over the details of the agreement, you could just watch the footage of Vice-Premier Liu He standing a few feet behind US President Donald Trump as the US leader reiterated a list of grievances about how China had taken advantage of the US, how America had been on its knees because of Chinese scheming and how Trump himself slew the menacing red dragon.
Optics aside, the outcome of the phase one deal was much more about cooperation than competition than most analysts have acknowledged.
The accord nudged the world closer to the kind of order that suits the top leaders of both countries. This may have helped Liu stand silently during the victory lap that Trump ran around him in the form of an endless monologue that felt more suited to a mafia don’s anniversary banquet than statesmanship.
Indeed, Trump had a reason to brag. The agreement’s enforcement mechanism was more than Beijing ever would have agreed to previously and certainly not for any of Trump’s predecessors. China had long insisted that commercial disputes should be litigated within the World Trade Organisation’s framework.