US unilateralism, short-termism and tariff strategy leave Beijing with upper hand

20251031N xi trump banknotes montage

The Oct. 30 meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump yielded no progress on correcting trade imbalances. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters)

TAKESHI KAWANAMI

GYEONGJU, South Korea — A lack of progress at this week’s summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the former’s goal of correcting international trade imbalances owes to three errors by Washington in dealing with Beijing.