In Trump’s second term, the United States is expected to take up more on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), driven by fundamental economic and security conflicts.
Australia-based former Peking University law professor Yuan Hongbing told The Epoch Times that China’s leader Xi Xinping is determined to revive the international communist movement and dominate the future of mankind in the name of communism. Xi calls it the “community of common destiny,” which is strategically in conflict with President-elect Donald Trump’s ideal of “making America great again.”
Beijing has not been able to revive its stagnant economy despite releasing more than $2 trillion in stimulus packages since Sept. 24. These packages increase the money supply and help local governments refinance their unreported debt but don’t boost domestic spending, hence, do not address China’s overproduction as a result of state subsidies.
China’s overcapacity remains a fundamental conflict of interest between the two countries, according to Nick Iacovella, senior vice president at the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA), an advocacy organization exclusively representing manufacturers that have productions in the United States.
“The Chinese Communist Party just cannot afford to rein in their overproduction,” Iacovella told The Epoch Times. “It’s the only way they’ve stimulated economic growth across the country.”
In addition to raising tariffs significantly on imported Chinese goods, Iacovella sees Trump rolling out industrial policies to stimulate domestic production, curbing China’s ability to raise funds from the U.S. capital markets, and prohibiting Chinese companies from receiving federal incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act.
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If Trump implements the above policies, “a strategic decoupling, which has already started, will continue at a much more rapid pace,” said Iacovella.
—Terri Wu
WHAT DOES BIDEN’S LONG-RANGE MISSILE DECISION MEAN?
President Joe Biden has reportedly lifted a restriction on Ukraine’s use of American-supplied long-range missiles against Russian territory in a move that could help the embattled nation improve its position ahead of a likely negotiated settlement.
Ukraine will now be allowed to use some long-range missiles provided by the United States to strike targets in the Russian region of Kursk, according to reporting by the Associated Press and several other outlets on Nov. 17.
Ukrainian troops have occupied Kursk since a successful counteroffensive in August. Russia has since deployed some 11,000 North Korean soldiers to the region to assist in its attempts to reconquer the territory.
The Kremlin accused Biden of “adding fuel to the fire” on Monday, suggesting that the policy decision could result in some retaliatory escalation by Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested in September that the nation could change its nuclear doctrine in order to allow it to attack nuclear powers like the United States that supplied forces engaged in attacks against Russian territory.
The move is unlikely to draw significant escalation, however, given that Moscow expects the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump to seek a negotiated settlement to end the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy similarly told Ukrainian media on Nov. 15 that Kyiv hopes to end the war next year through “diplomatic means” once Trump is in office.
To that end, the policy shift could grant Ukraine a valuable bargaining chip when it goes to the negotiation table.
Should Ukraine be able to maintain its control over the Kursk region, it could then offer to swap the territory back to Moscow in exchange for some Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russian forces.
While the move could greatly improve Ukraine’s negotiating position, however, it is unlikely to significantly change the outcome of the war, as Kyiv remains engaged in a brutal defense in the southeast against advancing Russian forces.
—Andrew Thornebrooke
BOOKMARKS
President Joe Biden is asking Congress for another $100 billion in disaster relief to aid victims of hurricanes Milton and Helene. The funding will be spread across 16 federal agencies, including an extra $40 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Nov. 18 ordered election officials in that state to stop counting undated mail-in ballots, confirming its previous Nov. 1 ruling. The order follows a GOP lawsuit, triggered by officials in Bucks, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties who said they intended to count the ballots in defiance of the court’s previous ruling.
The DOJ has accused Ohio man Larry Dean Harmon of laundering more than $300 million in bitcoin for drug dealers by using his Helix program to mask senders of online crypto transactions.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he approves of President-elect Donald Trump making “recess appointments” if the Senate drags its feet approving his Cabinet picks. The move has precedent—former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama all made such appointments during their terms.
Special counsel Jack Smith will pause his appeal in his classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump, following approval by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Smith filed the appeal after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case earlier this year, but has requested the pause following Trump’s election as president “to afford the government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance.”
—Stacy Robinson
