Looking beyond the US-China negotiations

There is scant chance that the Trump will be able to achieve its containment objectives, as - with respect to China's rise in every single domain - the train has left the station quite some time ago

US-China trade negotiations have resumed on Tuesday as President Trump reiterated last week that he was willing to hold off on increasing tariffs to 25 per cent by March 1 on $200 billion in Chinese goods if an agreement was in sight to satisfy US complaints about China’s “unfair” trade and forced technology transfer practices.

However, beyond the negotiations what is really going on the American side — at least among the hardliners in Washington led by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and  White House trade advisor Peter Navarro — is the implementation of a two-prong strategy towards China: On the