Trump had a moment of honesty with his phone:
"I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk," Trump wrote in a pair of tweets.
We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!"
Yet, it continues. Trump gave President Xi some chocolate cake, and he thought that would change decades of Chinese foreign policy. This is the so-called master of the deal.
But wait, not just zero cooperation on North Korea. He hasn't done shit to China on trade. He said he would label them a currency manipulator. China shut him up. He said he would recognize Taiwan. China shut him up. He thought pulling out of TPP would help America, but it hasn't changed a thing. Except give China a wide opening across the Pacific which they are eagerly exploiting.
China just opened its first foreign military base, in Africa. Protecting its substantial investments in Africa and the resulting trade routes is certain to be repeated with its expansionist vision in the Pacific. Especially with a United States bereft of a Pacific strategy, including a solution to North Korea.
How about Trump's Foreign Policy team? That supposedly grown up team of old white guys and Nikki Haley. Any success with China from that bunch? Nope.
United States Pacific posture is a mess. Trump says he can't do anything. The White House is Clueless. Congress isn't interested. The trade deficit with China has grown:
Imports of goods from China increased 11.6 percent. The politically sensitive U.S.-China trade deficit increased 14.4 percent to $31.6 billion in May.
All this winning. So much winning I'm really tired of this winning. This winning is terrible.