Dem
47
GOP
53
As long as we are on the subject of the Trade War(s), Trump's biggest and most dangerous adversary is Xi Jinping. That is true, we would say, for four reasons: (1) the U.S. does vast amounts of trade with China, and often for key goods that cannot be acquired in any other way; (2) China has vast reserves of U.S. currency, and so the ability to wreak havoc, if it wants to; (3) China has more "options" when it comes to trade, and is in a better position to tell Trump to pound sand than, say, Mexico or Canada and (4) you don't get to be the leader of a billion-person nation without some serious political skills, and Xi is certainly a shrewd cookie.
This upcoming Wednesday, China will commemorate the 80th anniversary of its victory over Japan in World War II. And the commemoration will feature a giant military parade, since Xi is an authoritarian, and that's what authoritarians do. Donald Trump loves military parades, since he is also an authoritarian, or at least a wannabe authoritarian. So, he would undoubtedly love an invite to the event. But he did not get one.
Who did get one? Well, Vladimir Putin, another authoritarian, did, and he's going to be there with колокольчики on. Kim Jong-Un, still another authoritarian, is also invited, and will also be there with 종 on. The general message of such a parade is: "Don't mess with China." The specific message of having Putin and Kim in attendance is "I can play this game better than you can, Donald" and also "You're not the only trade partner in the world." Undoubtedly, Xi has noted that Trump is getting nowhere in his efforts to talk turkey with Putin, and that Trump hasn't even been able to get Kim to commit to another meeting, even though Trump wants one.
There is some expectation that Trump will visit with Xi at some point in October or November. This kind of maneuvering is a reminder that, if they do meet, Xi is playing 4-D chess, while Trump is playing Candyland. (Z)