On one hand a legislative was passed and later discarded in the Chinese government to extend indefinitely the rule of Xi- Ginping - the President of the People’s Republic of China, on the other hand Trumps approval ratings remained low amidst his Donald Doctrine, a trade policy of protectionism geared towards increasing economic growth in America, reducing trade deficits and strengthening US manufacturing.
The truth is, quite to the contrary as you may think it seems both leaders are doing well in consolidating power. Xi is gaining grip to push through painful reforms and Trump also now has a near total grip on the Republican party. Both wings- the ‘’moderates’’, on one side and the protechnicists, once led be the outcast Steve Bannon, on the other – have fallen into line. From launching an unprecedented anti-corruption campaign and an aggressive new foreign policy or introducing corporate tax cuts through a 1.5tn tax bill, you are sure to get your opposers to rally around.
On the international front it seems the theme around global trade will be that of trade dispute between the US and China with a domino effect leading to retaliatory measures from the EU. “Trump’s latest national security tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium threatens volatility on financial markets with stocks falling lower generally around the world immediately after the announcement. China plans on retaliating by imposing tariffs on specific sectors such as agricultural products so not to escalate trade disputes in fear of damaging its export- dependent economy.
Both leaders will rely on the hands of history to play in their favor. In Trumps corner, history reminds us that imposing tariffs to protect one industry often results in pain for another. As in the case when President George W Bush imposed tariffs on steel imports in 2002 which later cost the US about 200,000 jobs. On Mr. Xi’s corner - said to be shadowing Mao Zedong - his signature ‘’China Dream’’ vision aims to revitalize his country by recapturing atavistic glories, the battle for the moral high ground between competing political systems, the capitalist democracy of the west and China’s market authoritarianism.
