WASHINGTON, January 24. /TASS/. In the beginning of his second presidential term, US President Donald Trump has taken a softer stance on China than before, the Axios news portal wrote.
"President Trump left Washington four years ago touting a revolutionary new consensus on the threat posed by China," the portal wrote. "He returned this week seeming to downplay that threat — signaling a potential thaw in relations between the world's two leading superpowers."
According to Axios, the way Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping communicate over the next four years "will have sweeping implications" for the global economy, AI, climate change, national security and other areas.
In his inaugural speech, Trump mentioned China only once. Later, the new US president revealed plans to impose 10% tariffs on Chinese products, which is "far lower than the 60% duties he had mentioned during his electoral campaign."
According to analysts interviewed by Axios, Trump "appears to be moderating his stance toward China."
In an earlier interview to Fox News, Trump expressed hope that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping will manage to come to terms on fairer trade. He also said that his recent phone conversation with the Chinese leader went well.
During his first presidential term in 2017-2021, Trump in fact initiated a trade war against China over a major trade imbalance, which was in Beijing’s favor. Back then, the Trump administration pursued a policy of a comprehensive increase in pressure on Beijing and all-around containment of China. Washington introduced tariffs on the import of Chinese goods totaling $370 billion, which, however, did not eliminate the imbalance. Also, Trump considerably stepped up pressure on Chinese tech companies, namely Huawei.