Trump called to Beijing and made a special request while making three major commitments to China, but China did not respond in the statement. What did Trump say when he called China? What is China's attitude towards Trump's request?
According to Xinhua News Agency on the 5th, China had an hour and a half call with US President Trump at the request, and the two sides communicated on a series of core concerns. Judging from the official announcement, there are many highlights of this call. On the one hand, China is talking to the US side on the request, which means that the dominance of the dialogue is in the hands of China, and Trump is here to ask for help. On the other hand, Trump has called for a visit to China since mid-May, but China has not given a reply, which made Trump clear about China's attitude. So while lowering his attitude, he also made three major promises to China during this call, which gave China the opportunity to invite him to visit China.
First of all, it is political. Trump emphasized the importance of Sino-US relations, and he also "respects" China and will continue to adhere to the "one China" principle. As China's most concerned sovereignty issue, it is also a red line that cannot be touched. Trump has made his point to show sincerity to China;
The second is the tariff issue. Trump believes that the two countries can work together to solve many problems and is willing to work with China to implement the Geneva agreement. This means that the collision between the two sides on tariff issues will gradually decrease in the next round, laying the foundation for the next negotiation;
The last is the issue of visa for international students. During the call, Trump said that he would maintain a welcome attitude towards Chinese students studying in the United States, which made the visa issue of 270,000 Chinese students in the United States no longer a bargaining chip for the game between great powers, and it is also a signal that Trump made concessions to China.
Since then, the negotiations between China and the United States can be said to be very pleasant. However, Trump's demand is not just an opportunity to visit China, but the rare earth issue is also the top priority of this call. He believes that China and the United States should not continue to be stalemate on the rare earth issue, and hope to hold a new round of negotiations and consultations as soon as possible. But what worries the US media is that Trump clearly regards rare earths as the core content of the next round of negotiations, but China did not mention rare earth-related issues in its statement.
You should know that there are too many issues that require consultation in this major power relationship between China and the United States. The 90-minute call time is not short, but many issues can only be exchanged on framework directions. It is not only rare to mention a specific product separately and use it as the core of negotiations, but also shows that the United States is already anxious to a certain extent.
No wonder Trump is anxious. China has the world's only complete rare earth industry chain. Only one company in the United States has the ability to refine rare earths, but its annual output is even less than China's one day's output. In this case, more than 80% of the rare earths in the United States need to be imported from China every year, involving automobiles, aviation, military industry and other aspects.
After the tariff war started, rare earths became a trump card to counter the United States, and it was notified that many countries and regions around the world would not allow the export of any rare earth goods exported to the United States by China, and violators would be punished together. This directly led to a surge in global rare earth prices, even to the point where there is price but no market.
In this case, the rare earth reserves of American automobiles, semiconductors and military enterprises are in full swing. Taking military industry as an example: guided missiles, submarines, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and even 87% of the rare earths manufactured by F-35 fifth-generation aircraft rely on China's imports. If the supply cut-off problem is delayed, the production lines of the United States will be forced to shut down, which is a fatal blow to the United States, which dominates the world by military forces. That's why Trump frequently calls for visiting China, hoping to relax rare earth controls.
But from China's standpoint, rare earths are an important strategic resource of the country, and negotiations are not impossible, but Trump must at least show corresponding sincerity. The three major promises he made only gave him the opportunity to visit China, but Trump's sanctions on Chinese chips, blocking Chinese technology companies, launching anti-subsidy investigations on Chinese goods, etc. These are all bargaining chips deliberately created by Trump in order to negotiate with China. Only by abolishing malicious sanctions and provocative policies against China can China calmly discuss the rare earth issue with the United States. Besides, China is not worried now, and has chosen to release goodwill, so why not take a few more steps?
