In recent months, President Donald Trump has launched America’s new buckshot approach to China—hit China everywhere and see what works. On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence gave a speech to articulate this new “get tough” policy. The strategy includes starting a trade war and shining a spotlight on China’s propaganda in the United States, with presumably more to come.
Faced with real threats from China that require a strategic response, this scattershot policy will be counterproductive. The trade war is the perfect example of the drawbacks: using indiscriminate tariffs in an unlikely attempt to change China’s economy will only hurt America and its allies without solving the real problems American businesses face in China.
The above excerpt was originally published in The Guardian.
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