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Trump’s Initial Moves Will Benefit China

President Trump has followed through on his campaign promises so far—to China’s benefit.

<p>Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on February 5, 2025. </p>
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on February 5, 2025.  Wu Hao/Pool via Reuters

By experts and staff

Published

In his first few weeks in office, President Donald Trump has followed through on a range of his campaign promises. Though some people who voted for Trump this time thought that his campaign rhetoric was just that—promises designed to woo voters that probably would not happen—in reality, he has relentlessly pursued much of what he promised on the campaign trail.

And while Trump has claimed that his policies will strengthen America, thus far, the biggest winner of many of his actions has been China, supposedly the United States’ biggest competitor and the focus of some of the uber-hawks in the administration, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In fact, given what the administration has done so far, leaders in Beijing could well be drinking champagne toasts, even in this more austere Xi era. For more on how Trump’s policies are benefitting China, see my new article in the Japan Times.