The 12-day tour through Asia by President Donald Trump has underscored the reality that American imperialism—a declining power wracked by external challenges and internal crises—is the most volatile and destabilising factor in world politics. Trump generated even greater trepidation about his administration’s policies than existed before the tour began. The immediate issue is if, or…
While the North Korean nuclear program and its missile tests capture the world public attention, another war is about to spark. On August 14, US President Trump launched the first salvo by authorizing an inquiry into Beijing’s alleged theft of intellectual property under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. This is the first…
China has expressed “grave concerns” over US President Donald Trump’s signing of a memo that authorizes a potential inquiry into Beijing’s alleged theft of intellectual property. China said it won’t “sit by,” and threatened to act to defend its interests. “We hope that the US trade representative respects facts and acts with prudence,” the Chinese…
America’s chronic trade deficit with the rest of the world is testimony to a failed US economy. In reality, the US has no-one else to blame but itself for such an historic failure. But in typical chauvinist fashion, the Trump administration has found a handy scapegoat by blaming China — its top bilateral trading partner. President Donald Trump…
A popular thesis since the 1930s is that a natural progression exists from currency wars to trade wars to shooting wars. Both history and analysis support this thesis. Currency wars do not exist all the time; they arise under certain conditions and persist until there is either systemic reform or systemic collapse. The conditions that…
Amid expectations of the US launching investigations into China’s alleged theft of American intellectual property as well as unfair trade practices, Beijing appears unmoved by the imminent probe while US businesses fear reprisals in case the row unintentionally escalates. Washington is expected to soon announce investigations into how China tackles copyright protection, protectionism and market…
