China Briefing | Trump’s face-changing used to rattle China, but time is now on Beijing’s side
- To Chinese observers, the US president’s rapid flip-flops on Xi Jinping and the imposition of tariffs are giving off hints of desperation
- China has learned its lesson by not dancing to Trump’s tune, and instead can afford to hunker down for a drawn-out negotiating process
The art of face-changing, or bian lian, is the most dramatic highlight of traditional Sichuan opera, in which a deft performer can change painted silk masks in quick succession with a flip of the wrist and a twist of the neck, revealing striking facial expressions.
During the same time frame, he promised to hike more tariffs on about US$500 billion of Chinese goods, but later admitted to having second thoughts – only to be corrected by his spokesperson, who insisted Trump regretted not raising the tariffs higher.
Last week, he also “ordered” American companies out of China “immediately”, claiming the United States did not “need China and frankly, would be far better off without them”. Three days later, he seized on a boilerplate phrase by Vice-Premier Liu He to express his great respect for China to want a “calm resolution”, adding that “talks are continuing”.
August 26 also saw Trump claim Chinese officials had called “our top people” – namely US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin – the previous day to “get back to the table” to resolve the trade war between the two countries.
But Trump’s version was called into doubt after a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said he was not aware of the weekend call.
Understandably, the president’s remarkable flip-flops initially sent stock markets worldwide on a roller-coaster ride.