The Chinese do not think in 2- or 4-yr cycles, and they don't have to answer to any voters (or even let their citizens find out what is going on in the world, as has been pointed out by themickey).
I don't think the current administration knows how to focus on the right things, or wants to.
Business works better when trading parties offer one another honey, not vinegar. When I want to keep a good client, I keep an ear to the ground regarding their concerns, and now and then, when they have an unexpected crisis, I go the extra mile for them, doing something in a rush or providing something that only takes an hour or so without charging more. This gives me room to negotiate for what I want on some other occasion, which will ultimately be much more beneficial to me than the nickels and dimes I give up. Proactively give a little without an expectation of something in return, then wait. It works. Win, win. Yes, there are times to play the threat card. But you play it at the end, not the beginning.
I have known these types of people before, who try to negotiate with everyone by stomping on them or trying to scare them. Since they are sometimes successful (even a blind hog finds an acorn now and then), they are convinced that their own methods are the most effective. However, these approaches do not line up with what we all know about human nature. Most of us will not give the time of day to a jerk but will bend ourselves into a pretzel to please someone who takes the trouble to show they value and need us.
Labor costs in the US are much higher than in China and elsewhere, and there are fewer rules about environment, labor laws, etc, than in the US, even with the recent rollbacks. There's no amount of tricks or walls or tariffs that can change these facts. But businesses value the rule of law and stable institutions very highly. Other than rent-seeking nations that are living off their own nonrenewable natural resources, most of the world's richest countries (a club China is not likely to join very soon) are democracies. People want to invest in these places because they know they are less likely to be ripped off or find that the ground is moving under their feet. The unfortunate truth the MAGA group don't seem to understand is that we are no longer living in the 1950s. The US is not the only game in town today. The world and free trade can go on, with or without our participation.
The US can't compete on labor costs no matter how many tariffs we put up. So what do we do? Well, we are back to business 101. We need to figure out what is our "edge." There are probably many, but here is one: we have one of the best higher educational systems in the world, so we should be able to compete on technical skills and ingenuity, just as the Germans have done. Yet, we do not focus on our pathetically underperforming K-12 system. We have kids flunking out or leaving school to work at minimum-wage jobs, commit crimes, or join the military to become maimed in wars, while we import Asians to do high-end technical jobs. I understand this to be happening because our leaders are really about immediate profit here, not about improving the long-term lot of the American people. We don't want to invest in education and community support, but over the long run, not doing so forces us to "invest" in prisons, food stamps, disability pensions, Medicaid, and so forth. Lose, lose.
