Xi Jinping is cheering for Trump to win

 

Xi Jinping is cheering for Trump to win

 

While "a cluster of illiberal leaders, including Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un, are chomping at the bit" for Donald Trump's return as U.S. president, no one is likely yearning more than China's President Xi Jinping, writes William Pesek.
 
"As Chinese growth flatlines, there is growing recognition in Beijing of just how many economic punches current U.S. President Joe Biden is landing," explains the author of "Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan's Lost Decades." In contrast, "Trump's blunderbuss administration swung wildly ... [but] rarely made meaningful contact."
 
"Nothing about Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods made the U.S. more innovative, productive or competitive," Pesek says. Instead, in addition to curbing semiconductor shipments and restricting U.S. investment in China, "Biden is building economic muscle at home to compete with China on the playing field."