Donald Trump has yet to be sworn in as president, but in a series of troubling remarks and tweets, he appears to be setting the stage for a turbulent and confrontational U.S.-China relationship. Worse, he is focused on all the wrong issues: threatening to undo U.S. commitments to China on Taiwan that are the foundation of U.S.-China relations, and on outmoded economic problems from the 1990s.
President-elect Trump's suggestion that the U.S. "One China" policy may be a bargaining chip for trade negotiations was either ignorant or reckless, and accomplished the rare feat of at once enraging both Beijing and Taipei, which resents being viewed as a bargaining chip. Trump's comments stirred a populist Chinese nationalism, putting Beijing on edge and creating a sour tone to begin his tenure amid an already volatile relationship.
