China’s playing the long game, and is making key moves to hedge against Trump’s tariffs

50% of nothing is still nothing.
400 million from Thailand is like spiting in the ocean compared to China.

 

We are threatening to punish many nations - our allies included. The backlash from this action is harming our short and long term economic security.

 

You are spouting Establishment propaganda as if it has some basis in reality - without really knowing if what you are saying is true or not. The trade imbalance perhaps does harm us somewhat - OK - lets fix those things - but lets do in a rational way - not by giving China ultimatums and ... "unreasonable" terms.

Once again - it is the way the admin has gone about sanctions that his harming us the most.

 

LOL.

• U.S. farmers lost their fourth largest export market after China officially cancelled all purchases of U.S. agricultural products, a retaliatory move following President Donald Trump’s pledge to slap 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports.

“Trump is ruining our markets. No one is buying our product no more, and we have no markets no more.”

Agriculture exports to China dropped by more than half last year. In 2017, China imported $19.5 billion in agricultural goods, making it the second-largest buyer overall for American farmers. In 2018, that dropped to $9.2 billion as the trade war escalated, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/10/tru...se-a-huge-customer-to-trade-war----china.html

25% of their market went away because of tRUMP. He is putting farmers out of business. He is giving them money because he took a big market away.

 

Great site ! good find. As I have been saying for a long time now .. while the Trump admin is around trying to beat our allies and other nations - making threats such as the "nuclear option" (threatening to block a nations banks out of the system of international payments) - China and Russia are going around doing deal - and we are losing out - and losing opportunities .. and losing in general.

Saw a stat the other day on some 911 "terrorist" documentary - saying we have spent near 5 Trillion dollars so far on the war on terror.. most of which was on the war in Iraq. What have we gained ? Nothing.

As per your article China will be working with Iran - who will the officially be a major supplier to the "new silk road" - energy hungry market of China/India.

Iraq is gone - they want our soldiers out and want little to do with US. China and Russia will be rebuilding Syria. China will be rebuilding Venezuela - but I digress from the ME...

China is now Saudi Arabia's biggest customer - and so obviously El Saud is looking fondly at China - other Gulf States such as Qatar and Oman are favorable towards Iran.

We are losing in the ME.

Turkey is buying the S-400 system - despite heavy protestation from the US. India is doing many deals with Russia - including purchasing the S-400 System - in spite of protests from the US

Germany is going ahead with the Nord Stream - despite protests from the US
Britain released the Iran Tanker - despite protests from the US
Italy has gone ahead with the Belt and Road initiative - despite protests from the US.

This is not what "winning" looks like - this is what "Losing" looks like - and there are many more examples than the ones given above - examples of "Losing".

 

If it wasn't so serious it would be funny.
When you think about it, it is US trade money they are investing in Iran because we have put tariffs on them so they don't want to use that money to buy American oil.
They are going to get it at 1/2 price because of our sanctions on Iran.
Pretty clever I guess, or pretty dumb on our part.

 

The other thing to consider is energy infrastructure - such as pipelines. Once those supply lines are set up - they are set up. While not certain - The rational for destabilization of Syria was because Assad blocked a pipeline - one backed by US /Israel/ Western Interests and was going to allow a line backed by Russia/Iran interests. This is also likely why we are still in Afghanistan.. as long as the region is in Chaos these major projects can not go through to the "new silk road".

 

China Needs Money - Evidence In Desperate FDI Actions, Not Words

Nothing about any of these actions suggests more stability. It's all about preventing a stock market collapse while praying for a miracle...

China is heading for fiscal and current-account deficits amid an escalating trade war. Its response is to encourage FDI.

China Is Throwing Open Its Market Door. Be Wary.

" Old Long Game" China’s latest welcome to foreigners smells of desperation.

Global funds no longer need quotas to buy Chinese stocks and bonds, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement Tuesday. That removes a hurdle to foreign investment that’s been in place for almost two decades, since the nation first allowed access to its capital markets.

Scrapping the quota is less a confident liberalization by a maturing economy and financial system than an overt admission that the country needs money. China has been edging dangerously close to twin deficits in its fiscal and current accounts. It needs as much foreign capital as it can get — even in the form of hot portfolio flows — to keep control over the balance of payments and avoid a further buildup of debt.

This thirst for overseas funds explains why China has been opening its financial services industry, allowing global investment banks to take majority control of their local brokerage joint ventures after years of resistance. The question now is whether foreigners will take the bait.

 

Bonds Not Tempting


Chinese bonds yield almost 1.5 percentage points more than US bonds.

Tempted?

 

Iran has a gas pipeline to the border with Pakistan and China now has a port in Gwadar to ship it.
The sticking point is Pakistan and they desperately need it. Time will tell on that one.

 

Speaking of Pakistan - there is another lost cause. Trump Tweeted recently

“The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools,” Trump tweeted in early 2018. “They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”
https://theglobepost.com/2019/07/24/us-pakistan-relations-trump/

Well no kidding Sherlock - In the Middle East - the Extremist Jihadists were happily killing each other off until we decided to take a stick to that hornets nest .. and what have we accomplished other than making the situation worse and spending Trillions of dollars.

The same is true in Afghanistan - the situation is as bad as it ever was - and far worse than prior to sticking our nose into the region - and all we have to show for it is lost lives- lost treasure - and a bad relationship with Pakistan and Afghanistan. One day we will finally step out - and how much do you want to bet that both of these nations will drift towards Mother Russia or China.

 

I have a friend in Pakistan. I guess I should check in with him.
Last time I talked with him he said Pakistan trusts China more than the US.

 

Yeah.
We ran stuff thru there like we thought we owned it. They earned their 33 billion.

 

The trade deficit hurts the US in many ways

No great nation can sustain itself as a banana republic that only supplies raw materials or food to a more advanced value-added rival

 

So you’re ok with the US as no more than a banana republic?

 

Merkel was just in China, with a plane load full of industrial bosses, making deals, gaining access.

 

Our government is restrained in order to preserve our freedom and liberty. If that's not your thing, you may be happier in China.

BLINK: Long Game China to exempt U.S. pork, soybeans from additional tariffs. They can’t afford to let pork prices rise any more for domestic political reasons.

 

What does the US not manufacturing high tech goods have to do with China ? It was US companies that chose to outsource that technology to be manufactured in China. This is not China or the Trade deficit hurting the US ... this is US companies that are hurting the US... you are shooting your arrow the wrong direction.

 

There are really two reasons for US companies to go to China.
1- access to their market
2- Low costs
It just happens both go together.

 

Manufacturing is a skill that is growing in china as it declines in America

Some US companies may have welcomed globalism and competition from chalna

But because of globalist free trade policies in washington most American companies have no choice except to outsource or die

But the company survives by killing American jobs

 

It was US companies and US law that created globalism - with respect to the US. The tax laws which allow profits to be siphoned out of the US - untaxed - is one of the main causes of outsourcing. More so than cheap labor. There is a reason why every large international corporation has a presence in the various Tax Haven nations.

 

The US didnt create globalism all by itself

But politicians and fatcats on wall street were all for it

Now we have to fix it

 

I did not say it did. The point of my last post was to address the major cause of outsourcing our manufacturing base - something which had nothing to do with "globalism" - that other nations were engaged in and everything to do with the international corporations "fat cats as per your terminology" running a tax avoidance scheme.

Fixing it has nothing to do with the China Trade war. .. ZERO. If life becomes difficult in China they will move production to another location - a location other than the US as the tax avoidance scheme does not work if one is manufacturing in the US.

How are we doing to "fix it" when the electorate keeps voting in the Establishment elite politicians who by en large - got where they are by proving to the Fat Cats that they would support policy that maintains the status quo ? Solve that riddle and you will be a better problem solver than I.

For example - what should be a simple no brainer - "Should we support and Arm Al Qaeda - the 911 terrorist group"

Take a poll on the streets and what do you think the percentage "NO" would be. 99 %. When this question was put before the house - this bill "Stop arming terrorist act" garnered 13 cosponsors - our of 435. When introduced in the Senate the bill got a total of ZERO co sponsors.

So we have 15 or so out of 535 .. which is 97% "Yes". Saying something like "we need to get rid of the 97%" is not a solution - as this does not address how on earth we are going to accomplish this.

 

I want the production returned to the US

But if we merely deny china the manufacturing advantage that is a partial win for the US

But we do need to clean out the old entrenched politicians in washington

 

Who doesn't want production returned to the US - sans the "Fat Cats" The question is how to get rid of the tax avoidance scheme that caused outsourcing and this has nothing to do with China. This is what I mean when I say that Trump is not addressing the systemic issues that are the root cause of the problem.

Instead Trump is feeding you a propaganda spin narrative - trying to deflect the blame from the real culprit - to China. A narrative that you have ingested - hook , line and sinker.