Key Takeaways
On Sunday, Jan. 19, China’s Vice President and Beijing’s envoy to Donald Trump’s inauguration Han Zheng reportedly met with incoming JD Vance in Washington.
Commenting on the meeting, China’s foreign ministry highlighted “extensive common interests and enormous space of cooperation” between the two superpowers.
However, on the eve of Trump’s inauguration, the shadow of ongoing trade and military tensions hangs heavily over U.S.-China relations.
Han Zheng’s meeting with U.S. Senator JD Vance underscores Beijing’s attempt to foster dialogue amidst strained relations.
According to the Trump transition team, the two men “discussed a range of topics including fentanyl, balancing trade and regional stability.”
Alongside the meeting with Vance, Han also reportedly met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other business leaders.
Despite efforts to find common ground, Vance and Trump’s hardline stance on Chinese economic practices raises questions about the long-term effectiveness of Beijing’s overtures.
Like his boss, Vance has frequently expressed his view that Chinese manufacturing dominance hurts American industry and he supports Trump’s plans to impose heavy tariffs on Chinese imports.
Sunday’s meeting and Donald Trump’s recent telephone call with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping suggest the beginning of a more pragmatic, mercantile relationship between Washington and Beijing.
Regardless of what direction the incoming administration’s China policy ultimately takes, the restart offers a clean sheet after four years of escalating trade sanctions under Biden.
In a final flourish of the Biden-era decoupling of Chinese and American technology sectors, the Department of Defense recently added Tencent and CATL to its list of “Chinese military companies.”
Following the decision, Tencent shares dipped by as much as seven percent as investors sought to distance themselves from the firm, fearing further sanctions.
Although Trump ran an election campaign promising high tariffs on Chinese imports, their exact size and shape remain uncertain.
It also isn’t clear whether he will continue Biden’s policy of restricting Chinese access to critical technologies such as high-end semiconductors.
Ongoing trade sanctions and the recent blacklisting of Chinese firms provide a backdrop of heightened tensions. However, the meeting between Han Zheng and JD Vance suggests the details aren’t set in stone.
As with so much of Trump’s agenda, the final form of the United States’ relationship with China is up for negotiation—one where the incoming administration must balance economic interests, national security concerns and geopolitical considerations.