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Charting Trump's next chapter

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People watch the broadcast of the inauguration ceremony of the 47th president of the United States at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 20, 2025. /Xinhua
People watch the broadcast of the inauguration ceremony of the 47th president of the United States at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 20, 2025. /Xinhua

People watch the broadcast of the inauguration ceremony of the 47th president of the United States at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 20, 2025. /Xinhua

Editor's note: William Jones, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is the former Washington bureau chief for EIR News Service and a non-resident fellow of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

Much attention was focused on January 20 on events in Washington, with people all over the world anxious to see what the newly inaugurated President Donald Trump really intends to accomplish during his second administration.

On many fronts, this seems clear, with Trump signing, on day one, dozens of executive orders on a myriad of subjects he had been outspoken about during his campaign. These included orders calling for closing the borders, deporting unlawful immigrants with criminal records, repealing environmental regulations preventing oil drilling in Alaska and other wildlife areas and calling for all Federal workers to get back to their offices after an extended period of remote work.

But there was little in his inaugural address that dealt with how he would handle foreign policy, except for his intent to reclaim the Panama Canal from Panama and to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Much of the world's attention, however, has been focused on Trump's economic policy, in particular, his threat to impose draconian tariffs on many countries, including China. While Trump clearly indicated in his address that tariffs would be a cornerstone of his policy and announced plans to set up an External Revenue Service to oversee them, he did not provide specifics.

During his campaign, however, he had occasionally stated that he would be prepared to impose tariffs ranging from 10 percent to 60 percent tariffs on China and other nations for alleged unfair trade practices. Despite this, Trump emphasized, in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping prior to his inauguration, that as the world's most important countries, the United States and China must cooperate extensively for the sake of world peace and long-term stability.

It was also noteworthy that President Trump intervened to stop the banning of TikTok, owned by the Chinese firm, ByteDance. Under the proposed legislation, TikTok would have been allowed to continue operating only if it were sold to an American company – a condition ByteDance was unwilling to meet. Trump, however, proposed a workaround by suggesting TikTok be transformed into a joint venture with the U.S. government.

This intervention came despite a flurry of protests in Congress, where anti-China sentiment is rampant, including among Trump's own party. Saving TikTok for its more than 170 million American users required Trump to resist the prevailing tide of opposition – a move that didn't go unnoticed by observers in China.

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order at Capital One arena in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 20, 2025. /Xinhua
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order at Capital One arena in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 20, 2025. /Xinhua

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order at Capital One arena in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 20, 2025. /Xinhua

Later in the evening, at a rather restricted but free-flowing press conference held while he signed executive orders, Trump was asked if he planned to impose new tariffs on China. He simply replied that he would maintain the tariffs he had introduced during his previous administration, which the Biden administration had left in place.

In that discussion, the only hint of new tariffs on China came when he said he would consider them if China failed to agree to his proposed deal on TikTok.

The trajectory of China-U.S. relations under Trump's second administration remains unclear. His unpredictable nature makes it challenging to forecast his future actions. However, it appears unlikely that he will take drastic steps against China before meeting President Xi for discussions. Such a meeting could serve as a key indicator of the relationship's direction over the next four years.

While "summitry" often reflects existing trends between nations, in the case of China-U.S. relations, which have significant moments of tension, meetings between the leaders may play a critical role in determining the overall course of the relationship.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com. Follow @thouse_opinions on Twitter to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.)

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