Inside the Stalled US-China Negotiations: A Clash of Styles and Missed Connections

TL;DR;

The Wall Street Journal revealed the inside story of some Sino-US negotiations, explaining to some extent why the negotiations are in trouble. The negotiation channel has not been established. Wang Yi sought to meet with Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz during a UN meeting in the United States in February, but to no avail. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao also wrote letters to US Commerce Minister Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jemison Greer in February, but to no avail. Subsequently, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng tried to use Musk as a middleman but failed. In addition, China has sought other Wall Street elites to be middlemen, but no one is willing to take on this role. It is difficult to establish contact, not purely because the United States is unwilling to pay attention, Xi Jinping's conservatism is also the main reason. The Trump team is unwilling to stick to traditional diplomatic methods and is only willing to deal with those closest to Xi Jinping. For example, the Trump team once proposed to talk directly with Xi Jinping's confidant, Cai Qi, but the CCP believed that this would have political risks and refused. At the same time, Xi Jinping does not want to be seen as too keen to reach an agreement, which would appear too weak. These have jointly led to the current predicament. The Wall Street Journal commented that this is a person who flaunts pressure (Trump) and an arrogant and self-sustaining negotiation (Xi Jinping).