Trump threatens 100% tariffs on China after rare earth mineral warning

In a political environment where there is little agreement, there is one exception: China. This country is ranked as the No. 1 geopolitical threat to the United States by almost every national security expert. The question is how to coexist without interdependence, how to compete without conflict, and how to protect American producers and consumers while China plays by arbitrary rules.

Before China threatened US access to rare earth minerals, a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping was announced. The United States responded by threatening to impose 100 percent additional tariffs on Chinese imports.

Most Americans could not understand why China would make such a provocative move after both presidents agreed to meet. Of course, the Chinese government must have known that Trump would react. Xi has been China’s leader for over a decade and has made no concessions.

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Conversely, Trump is almost a year into his final term in office. Assuming that the Americans do not have the will to wait for a protracted struggle, China has always played the long game. China thinks that patience will win and that the Americans cannot withstand the pressure. Patience is an overrated virtue, and you might be surprised at how quickly this administration can act.

The Trump administration has already resolved conflicts around the world, as evidenced by the history-defying peace deal in the Middle East. The administration has used tariffs and their associated threats to raise U.S. revenue, level the trade playing field, and reposition the United States toward increased domestic production.

He was clear about the threats posed by Venezuela, repositioned our relations with Colombia, opened a dialogue between Israel and moderate Arab states, bombed Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and closed a porous border. This all happened in less than a year.

The conflict to be resolved is in Eastern Europe, and the “white whale” among unresolved trade agreements is China. The two are interconnected. While the United States was trying to isolate Russia due to its aggression against Ukraine, China was providing both military and economic aid to Russia.

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The administration’s next agenda includes ending Russia’s occupation of Ukraine and negotiating a trade deal with China that could be based on the fact that problematic forces within today’s Chinese Communist Party are not going anywhere.

Even if Xi resigns or his power wanes, there is no Chinese equivalent of America’s 22nd Amendment; There is no constitutional limit on the number of terms or years a leader can serve. This means Beijing’s leadership can remain in power indefinitely, a central pillar of the Communist Party’s strategy. The United States must live with this reality and still negotiate from a position of strength to achieve our interests.

While recent reports have suggested that Xi’s influence is weakening due to internal purges and speculation about dissent within the Chinese Communist Party, history shows that such reports are often exaggerated. And even if Xi falls, his successor will continue the long-term authoritarian policies that define modern China.

TRUMP CALLS XI’S RARE EARTH MOVEMENT A ‘BAD MOMENT’ — WHY IT MATTER FOR US NATIONAL SECURITY AND CHINA TIES

China sees time and our democratic system as allies in its strategy. The important thing is to make Beijing understand that Trump’s impatience with this country’s pretense and hypocrisy is not a weakness but a threat to its interests.

The administration’s China pressure strategy is not limited to tariffs. It extends to the technological frontier, where the next great battles for global power will be fought.

The Trump administration has already resolved conflicts around the world, as evidenced by the history-defying peace deal in the Middle East.

Recognizing that China’s dominance in communications and artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to U.S. security, the Trump administration has moved to aggressively end Beijing’s control over critical infrastructure.

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The Justice Department, for example, has taken decisive action to challenge the dominance of global telecommunications by Huawei, a company controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. Huawei still controls the global telecom market (and by extension the future of AI and 5G) and has been repeatedly found to contain backdoors and vulnerabilities by the Department of Defense and our security agencies.

To level the playing field, the Trump administration — working with U.S. intelligence officials — approved the HPE-Juniper merger; This gave America a credible rival and a real chance to outpace China while securing critical communications infrastructure.

There were those who opposed this merger; both the usual suspects and a few new suspects. Democratic attorneys general, led by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, are swearing, but they are doing so without access to any of the information necessary to make an informed decision. Too often, instinctive disdain for the president has superseded rational consideration of national security realities.

When the president perceived national security threats in the field of computer chips, he took the unprecedented step of teaming up with Intel. Unusual? Yes. But these are not traditional times, and future conflicts will not be fought under traditional conditions.

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While progress has been made with China both in practice and in principle, much remains to be done; That’s why the president and his economic, trade and national security teams are willing to meet with China. Next could come tightening export controls on other sensitive technologies and strengthening military partnerships in the Indo-Pacific to deter China’s ambitions.

Beijing watched as Trump revived NATO, ended many wars, imposed tariffs, and met intended pain with imposed pain. Beijing saw a general preference for patience when necessary, force when necessary, and peace.

While recent reports have suggested that Xi’s influence is weakening due to internal purges and speculation about dissent within the Chinese Communist Party, history shows that such reports are often exaggerated.

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Don’t confuse diplomacy with weakness or argument with lack of determination. Trump can ensure peace, level the playing field, stop intellectual property theft, punish currency manipulation, and allow healthy, fair competition even among perceived opponents.

Just because someone seeks peace doesn’t mean they aren’t prepared for a world without peace. China would be wise to know that although democracy limits the length of time a person remains in office, it has done nothing to discourage the pace of steps that can be taken to preserve democracy.