4 ways China could deal with Donald Trump – CNN
Since his election in November, President Trump has challenged Beijing over its military build-up in the South China Sea, slammed its currency and trade policies and, perhaps most controversially, upended decades of diplomatic protocol by questioning a longstanding US policy towards Taiwan.
"They (China's leaders) might be willing to give up something but if Trump asks too much, China is willing to fight," says Zhang Baohui, a professor of political science at Lingnan University,
Here's four ways China could try to handle the Oval Office's unpredictable new occupant.
Trump's bluster could be just that. There's a long history of US presidents taking a tough stance on China only to moderate it once in office.
Jon Huntsman Jr., a former US ambassador to Beijing, says Trump's fiery talk on China fits that pattern.
"This is kind of a replay of what we've seen before. Trump at some point is going to have to say 'I've gotta sit down and do business with the Chinese," he told CNN.
Trump has already moderated one of his key stances on China. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he walked back on an earlier pledge to name China a currency manipulator on day one of his administration.
However, analysts say this strategy is risky for China. If President Xi Jinping stays too quiet in the face of Trump's provocations, it makes Xi, who has built his credibility on being a strong leader, look weak.
This could trigger protests --- something Xi is unlikely to want in a year that will also see some leadership changes in Beijing when the Chinese Communist Party holds its once-every-five-years congress.
"Xi definitely doesn't want relations with the US to stir up trouble. He's anxious not to allow nationalistic young men and women to demonstrate against the US," says Willy Lam, an adjunct professor at the Centre for Chinese Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
"I don't think Trump and his team will carry out the bulk of their threats," says Lam.
"We need to remember that Trump is a shrewd businessman. He's raising an extreme position from which he might do a bit of climbing down if the Chinese were amenable to making other compromises."
China has been busy behind the scenes reaching out to people close to Trump, says Zhang Baohui, a professor of political science at Lingnan University,
"They will first try and shape his China policy by trying to work with him," says Zhang.
"They've floated the idea of trying to invest in US infrastructure. The Chinese fundamentally think he is a businessman who wants to create jobs -- even if he's willing to play dirty tricks over things like Taiwan."
Personalities count, especially in China where connections or guanxi are viewed as key to getting anything done.
Zhang says that many in China want a meeting between Trump and Xi as soon as possible, with some suggestion that Trump could be invited to a multilateral meeting on China's "one belt, one road" initiative in May.
Another opportunity would come in July when the G20 meeting is held in Germany or November when Vietnam hosts APEC -- the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
"When they meet directly and have glass of Maotai together over dinner, Xi could disarm Trump. He's a good diplomat," says Zhang, referring to a popular Chinese liquor.
Branstad and Xi have known each other since 1985, when Xi visited Iowa as a provincial official on a state exchange program during Branstad's first term as governor, and have maintained a friendship of sorts.
"The Chinese commerce department has drawn up a meticulous list of possible retaliatory measures -- which US companies would be hit with what kind of tariffs should the US (fire) a salvo in a trade war," he says.
It's not something to take lightly, especially for a US president who's staked his legitimacy on delivering jobs and an economic revival, says Jing Ulrich, Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Asia Pacific, JPMorgan Chase.
Shen Dingli, a professor of International Relations at Fudan University in Shanghai, says he believes that China is willing to negotiate with the US and the two should be able to resolve their differences on trade -- but Taiwan is a red line for China's leaders.
"We cannot do Taiwan as a bargaining chip," he says.
"If Trump still plays the Taiwan card then China and the US would have a very serious confrontation. This is hopefully not what Trump wants to have."
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4 ways China could deal with Donald Trump - CNN