Why Trump Should Make China-US Relations Great Again

A country insulates itself from China at its own peril, at least economically. The road to making America great again must go through Beijing.

U.S. President Donald Trump greets Chinese President Xi Jinping before a bilateral meeting at the Gimhae International Airport terminal in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 30, 2025.

When Donald Trump was elected to the U.S. presidency for a second term, most analysts in Beijing were understandably deeply pessimistic about the future of China-U.S. relations.

For one thing, Trump had left a record of being tough on China during his first term: a trade war, the infamous China Initiative, sanctions against Chinese high-tech companies like Huawei, and his harsh criticism of China’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, to mention just the most notable. By the time he left the White House in January 2021, the bilateral relationship arguably stood at its lowest point since Richard Nixon’s landmark visit in 1972 had created a historic opening.

As Trump prepared to take office again, he picked two China hawks on Capitol Hill to fill the two most important foreign policy positions in his second cabinet: Marco Rubio as the secretary of state and Michael Waltz as the national security adviser, though the latter has been reassigned to the United Nations

Thus few observers were surprised when Trump announced what he called a “reciprocal tariff” on China (and most of the world) in early April 2025, setting off a new round of tit-for-tat between the world’s two biggest economies. Yet to the surprise of most observers, half a year later Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to put a hold on the escalating trade war at the APEC summit in Busan, South Korea. Whereas Washington withdrew its reciprocal tariff on China, Beijing lifted its strict control on rare earth exports to the United States. The trade truce has lasted until now, giving the bilateral relationship a short but much-needed period of relative stability.

Trump is currently scheduled to visit Beijing in mid-May, followed by probably two more meetings with his Chinese counterpart at the G-20 (hosted by the United States) and APEC (hosted by China) summits later this year. As a result, it is almost certain that China-U.S. relations will remain rather stable through the end of 2026. On the one hand, the two governments will most likely take some positive actions to create a favorable setting for these summits. On the other hand, the two presidents can address the most difficult bilateral issues face-to-face at the summits.

In this sense, summits are the last but most effective guardrails for China-U.S. relations. If all three summits actually happen, they undoubtedly will bring substantial stability to the bilateral relationship.

A stable China-U.S. relationship is not only in China’s best interest, but also in the United States’ best interest. Over the past decade or so, however, the prevailing discourse in Washington has portrayed China as the biggest winner and the U.S. the biggest loser in the bilateral relationship, which cannot be further from truth. To be sure, U.S. capital, technology, and consumer market – and those of its allies – have played a critical role in driving China’s economic development. It is fair to say that without the normalization of China-U.S. relations in 1979, the rise of China would have been far more difficult. In a sense, the road to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation passed through Washington.

But the increasing prosperity of China has never been one-way traffic. Instead, most Americans have benefited in one way or another from bilateral economic ties. Combined U.S. goods and services exports to China supported over 1 million American jobs in 2021, according to a U.S.-China Business Council report. A Heritage Foundation study showed that imports of China-made clothing, toys, and sporting goods supported 576,000 U.S. jobs in port offloading, transportation, wholesale, retailing, and other sectors. 

If Chinese direct investment had grown at the rate of the early 2010s, it would have created 200,000-400,000 American jobs by 2020, according to a 2012 Rhodium Group study. Instead, with investment curtailed by regulatory scrutiny, the number of Americans employed at Chinese companies peaked at 229,000 in 2017 before falling to 140,000, Rhodium found in 2023.

On top of these jobs for Americans, trade with and investment in China have generated massive profits for U.S. corporations. Admittedly, made-in-China has had huge negative impact on some segments of U.S. manufacturing, but on balance the China-U.S. economic relationship has been a huge win-win for both sides.

China is already the world’s largest economy if calculated on the basis of purchasing power parity, and it is widely expected to continue to grow in the decades to come, though at a much slower rate. It is the largest trading partner for over 120 countries. It boasts the world’s most comprehensive industrial chains, the largest manufacturing output, and absolute dominance in the global supply of many critical minerals. The sheer size of China means that a country insulates itself from China at its own peril, at least economically.

Therefore, if Trump – or his successor – is serious about making America great again, especially on the economic front, he should first make China-U.S. relations great again. This seems to be the hard lesson that Trump has learned from dealing with China during his second term. There is an apt Chinese saying for him: a wise person knows when to be flexible. His timely decision to embrace a truce apparently has stabilized China-U.S. relations for the moment. 

For the sake of long-term stability, Trump should take full advantage of his unrivalled influence in the Republican Party to educate its rank and file about the benefits of a stable and peaceful relationship with China. Poll after poll has shown that Republicans in general are much more likely to oppose engagement with China and to view China as the United States’ biggest enemy. 

He should also leverage the presidential bully pulpit to educate the American people in general about those benefits. Though the proportion of Americans having favorable views of China has been slowly edging up since 2023, it nevertheless stands below 40 percent. Public opinion rarely dictates U.S. foreign policy, but it acts like a “system of dikes” that limits the range of government actions. A favorable public opinion about China undoubtedly gives Washington more leeway in promoting a more stable relationship with Beijing.

Trump is facing a historic opportunity to reset the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship. The 47th president may not enjoy being compared with Nixon, but the latter implemented a dramatic and enduring shift in U.S. China policy and in the international order. His domestic reputation notwithstanding, Nixon has since been eulogized in China as a great leader of vision and courage as well as a great friend of the Chinese people. If Trump cares about leaving a similar legacy no less than he cares about making America great again, he should demonstrate similar vision and courage. The road to making America great again must go through Beijing.

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When Donald Trump was elected to the U.S. presidency for a second term, most analysts in Beijing were understandably deeply pessimistic about the future of China-U.S. relations.

For one thing, Trump had left a record of being tough on China during his first term: a trade war, the infamous China Initiative, sanctions against Chinese high-tech companies like Huawei, and his harsh criticism of China’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, to mention just the most notable. By the time he left the White House in January 2021, the bilateral relationship arguably stood at its lowest point since Richard Nixon’s landmark visit in 1972 had created a historic opening.

As Trump prepared to take office again, he picked two China hawks on Capitol Hill to fill the two most important foreign policy positions in his second cabinet: Marco Rubio as the secretary of state and Michael Waltz as the national security adviser, though the latter has been reassigned to the United Nations

Thus few observers were surprised when Trump announced what he called a “reciprocal tariff” on China (and most of the world) in early April 2025, setting off a new round of tit-for-tat between the world’s two biggest economies. Yet to the surprise of most observers, half a year later Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to put a hold on the escalating trade war at the APEC summit in Busan, South Korea. Whereas Washington withdrew its reciprocal tariff on China, Beijing lifted its strict control on rare earth exports to the United States. The trade truce has lasted until now, giving the bilateral relationship a short but much-needed period of relative stability.

Trump is currently scheduled to visit Beijing in mid-May, followed by probably two more meetings with his Chinese counterpart at the G-20 (hosted by the United States) and APEC (hosted by China) summits later this year. As a result, it is almost certain that China-U.S. relations will remain rather stable through the end of 2026. On the one hand, the two governments will most likely take some positive actions to create a favorable setting for these summits. On the other hand, the two presidents can address the most difficult bilateral issues face-to-face at the summits.

In this sense, summits are the last but most effective guardrails for China-U.S. relations. If all three summits actually happen, they undoubtedly will bring substantial stability to the bilateral relationship.

A stable China-U.S. relationship is not only in China’s best interest, but also in the United States’ best interest. Over the past decade or so, however, the prevailing discourse in Washington has portrayed China as the biggest winner and the U.S. the biggest loser in the bilateral relationship, which cannot be further from truth. To be sure, U.S. capital, technology, and consumer market – and those of its allies – have played a critical role in driving China’s economic development. It is fair to say that without the normalization of China-U.S. relations in 1979, the rise of China would have been far more difficult. In a sense, the road to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation passed through Washington.

But the increasing prosperity of China has never been one-way traffic. Instead, most Americans have benefited in one way or another from bilateral economic ties. Combined U.S. goods and services exports to China supported over 1 million American jobs in 2021, according to a U.S.-China Business Council report. A Heritage Foundation study showed that imports of China-made clothing, toys, and sporting goods supported 576,000 U.S. jobs in port offloading, transportation, wholesale, retailing, and other sectors. 

If Chinese direct investment had grown at the rate of the early 2010s, it would have created 200,000-400,000 American jobs by 2020, according to a 2012 Rhodium Group study. Instead, with investment curtailed by regulatory scrutiny, the number of Americans employed at Chinese companies peaked at 229,000 in 2017 before falling to 140,000, Rhodium found in 2023.

On top of these jobs for Americans, trade with and investment in China have generated massive profits for U.S. corporations. Admittedly, made-in-China has had huge negative impact on some segments of U.S. manufacturing, but on balance the China-U.S. economic relationship has been a huge win-win for both sides.

China is already the world’s largest economy if calculated on the basis of purchasing power parity, and it is widely expected to continue to grow in the decades to come, though at a much slower rate. It is the largest trading partner for over 120 countries. It boasts the world’s most comprehensive industrial chains, the largest manufacturing output, and absolute dominance in the global supply of many critical minerals. The sheer size of China means that a country insulates itself from China at its own peril, at least economically.

Therefore, if Trump – or his successor – is serious about making America great again, especially on the economic front, he should first make China-U.S. relations great again. This seems to be the hard lesson that Trump has learned from dealing with China during his second term. There is an apt Chinese saying for him: a wise person knows when to be flexible. His timely decision to embrace a truce apparently has stabilized China-U.S. relations for the moment. 

For the sake of long-term stability, Trump should take full advantage of his unrivalled influence in the Republican Party to educate its rank and file about the benefits of a stable and peaceful relationship with China. Poll after poll has shown that Republicans in general are much more likely to oppose engagement with China and to view China as the United States’ biggest enemy. 

He should also leverage the presidential bully pulpit to educate the American people in general about those benefits. Though the proportion of Americans having favorable views of China has been slowly edging up since 2023, it nevertheless stands below 40 percent. Public opinion rarely dictates U.S. foreign policy, but it acts like a “system of dikes” that limits the range of government actions. A favorable public opinion about China undoubtedly gives Washington more leeway in promoting a more stable relationship with Beijing.

Trump is facing a historic opportunity to reset the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship. The 47th president may not enjoy being compared with Nixon, but the latter implemented a dramatic and enduring shift in U.S. China policy and in the international order. His domestic reputation notwithstanding, Nixon has since been eulogized in China as a great leader of vision and courage as well as a great friend of the Chinese people. If Trump cares about leaving a similar legacy no less than he cares about making America great again, he should demonstrate similar vision and courage. The road to making America great again must go through Beijing.

Xie Tao is professor and dean of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

U.S. anti-China sentiment

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