Article: America’s strictness, Donald Trump surrounded Xi around

New Delhi: Donald Trump has not taken the reins of America for the second time, but it has started to understand the direction of relations with China. Right now there is a noise of trade war and this has also caught the most attention.Increased losses: In his/her first term, Trump imposed tariffs on goods coming from China. In the year 2020, there was a trade deal between the US and China. China then agreed to buy more goods from the US to reduce trade deficit. Despite this, the US trade deficit with China in 2024 stood at $ 295.4 billion. It increased by 5.8% compared to 2023.

Review of rules: Trump declared the ‘US First’ policy in January. It is clear that their government will see whether China has fulfilled the promises made in 2020. Also, the policies of the Trump administration include investigation into other cases related to China. For example – technology transfer, violation of intellectual property rules, sending goods through other countries and improper trade policies. The Trump government will also review the economic and security of the industrial and manufacturing base. The aim is to find out whether such imports need to be reduced, which can become a threat to national security.

new law: Trump has increased the tariff twice on Chinese goods. They have also indicated to increase import duty on vehicles, semiconductors and pharma. US MPs have demanded the Trump administration to take strictness to investigate suspected trade policies and to stop tax evasion. In the US, low -priced package is duty free, but some online sellers are taking advantage of it wrongly. A new law is proposed to limit this exemption.

New fees: China’s target is also China’s logistics system. The US Trade Representative has made a proposal, according to which ships in China will have to pay a fee of $ 1.5 million to stay at American ports. If an operator has a single Chinese ship in the fleet, he/she will have to pay 5 million dollars. China’s COSCO is the fourth largest shipping company in the world. The new rule will directly affect its supply chain.

Investment on investment: Trump believes that China uses its private sector and research centers to gather intelligence. Investors who invest money in Chinese companies are inadvertently helping the modernization of the Chinese army. Trump wants to regulate the money, technical knowledge and technology received to China. he/she wants the people of China to be prevented from buying property in America. he/she has ordered limiting sugar investment in important infrastructure, health services, agriculture, energy and technology. There are also plans to curb investment from the US to China, especially in aerospace, quantum, biotechnology, semiconductor and AI.

Importance of Quad: A few hours after the swearing in, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met India’s Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and counterparts from Australia and Japan. These countries are members of Quad. Quad’s joint statement spoke of regional integrity and independent Hind-Pacific region. This reflects America’s changed diplomacy. The new American government usually has been talking to NATO members or neighbors like Canada and Mexico. The importance of Quad can also be understood that Trump has spoken of promoting minerals and processing with Quad in America itself. Actually, China is now controlling the supply of essential minerals used in electronics.

Tairag The relationship between America and Taiwan has taken a new twist. The US State Department has said that it would support the inclusion of Taiwan in international organizations. Marco Rubio has removed the line from the official website of America, stating that ‘America would not support Taiwan’s independence’. In a meeting with Japan and South Korea’s foreign ministers, Rubio said that peace in Taiwan is very important for the safety and progress of the whole world. These things have sent a strong message to China.

India’s challenge: The world’s major economies and military forces are colliding with each other. There are new opportunities and difficulties for India. Marco Rubio wants a strong relationship with India. he/she considers India an important part of the American strategy to prevent China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific sector. he/she introduced the US-India Defense Cooperation Act in the Senate in July 2024. With this, India will also join America’s special defense partners, Japan and Israel.

Changed strategy: In the era of Biden, Quad Climate was focusing on topics such as change and health. Trump’s focus is on security. At the moment it is not clear why he/she is putting so much pressure on China. Some people believe that he/she wants to use it for bargaining with Chinese President Xi Chinfing. There is speculation in the media that Trump and Xi may meet in June this year. India will keep an eye on this.

(The author is a professor at King’s College, London)