Several members of President Donald Trump’s inner circle have deep insights about China, but they are deeply divided over how to deal with a country seen as America’s biggest rival.
Trump delayed imposing tariffs on China on his first day as president amid deep differences in views between individuals such as businessman Elon Musk and his hawkish Secretary of State Marco Rubio The tariffs were perhaps not surprising, although he said they would make the country “rich as hell.”
Trump’s comments on it A cordial conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping Comments from Republican administration sources suggest he is open to new trade deals. Some analysts say Xi is eager to head off steep tariffs that could severely weaken his already sluggish economy.
See also: Xi Jinping lures Trump into new US-China trade deal
Here are Trump’s upcoming cabinet picks and their stance on China:
Musk
Musk, who was appointed by Trump to lead an advisory body aimed at creating a more efficient U.S. government, has extensive business interests in China and has developed close ties with the Chinese leadership over the years as Tesla CEO.
Although not a member of the Cabinet, the South African-born billionaire recently met with Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng in Washington and could become a key intermediary in talks between the Trump administration and Beijing.
Tesla, which opened a Gigafactory in Shanghai in 2019, has received billions of dollars in subsidies, loans and tax breaks from the Chinese government, a welcome relief for foreign companies often plagued by Chinese regulations and market access restrictions. Rare.
Despite this support, Musk’s other ventures, including commercial rocket and satellite company SpaceX and social media platform X, which is banned in China, are still seen as security risks by Beijing.
His mother, Maye Musk, has worked as an advertising model for several Chinese brands and is an influencer on Chinese social media, claiming to visit China “almost every month.”
David Perdue
The former Georgia Republican senator, chosen by Trump to be the next U.S. ambassador to China, has lived in Hong Kong during his 40-year career as a corporate executive.
U.S. Democrats have complained that Perdue relied on outsourcing U.S. manufacturing jobs to Asia during his business career, including at sporting goods company Reebok, a practice Trump has objected to and vowed to end.
Some Chinese analysts expressed hope that Perdue’s Asian experience and pragmatic reputation could stabilize tense U.S.-China relations.
Nonetheless, Perdue criticized China on trade, human rights and defense issues while serving as a senator from 2015 to 2021, accusing Beijing of accelerating military buildup and leading to the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs. He later supported Trump’s tariffs on more than $300 billion in Chinese goods.
Howard Lutnick
Trump’s pick for commerce secretary is Cantor Fitzgerald, CEO of Wall Street brokerage firm and an outspoken advocate of tariffs.
However, his company’s operations in China have come under intense scrutiny. One of his companies, BCG Group, formed a joint venture in China with state-owned CITIC Trust, while Cantor Fitzgerald, which has an office in Hong Kong, underwrote the 2023 IPO of Chinese biotech Adlai Nortye on Nasdaq.
Critics say Lutnick’s financial ties to China raise questions about whether he could be unduly influenced by Beijing in overseeing broad U.S. export controls to China, including concerns in Washington that Beijing could use the technologies for Sensitive U.S. technology for military purposes.
He said he would resign from Cantor and BCG if confirmed.
Mike Waltz
The incoming national security adviser and U.S. Army Special Forces veteran has long taken a tough stance on China, having urged the U.S. to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over alleged human rights abuses in China, including in Xinjiang.
He vowed earlier this month to continue strengthening U.S. regional security alliances as part of Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy and to continue U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
But this week, Walz appeared to show some room for compromise, as he did not rule out China continuing to own TikTok and “putting up a firewall to ensure data is protected within the United States.”
TikTok resumed service on Sunday after Trump said he would “preserve” access to its 170 million U.S. users, despite a legal ban on the Chinese app continuing to operate due to data security concerns.
Marco Rubio
One of the most outspoken China hawks in the Senate, the newly appointed secretary of state was sanctioned twice by Beijing in 2020 for criticizing China’s alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and China’s crackdown in Hong Kong.
It is unclear whether Beijing will lift sanctions banning Rubio from traveling to China once he takes office.
He co-sponsored Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act of 2021which effectively bans most imports from Xinjiang. Recently, he described Beijing as the “biggest threat” to U.S. security and warned of China’s dominance of global supply chains.
- Reuters Additional editing by Jim Pollard
See also:
Trump says he and China’s Xi Jinping may ‘get along great’
Trump plans to restrict China’s electric vehicle supply chain
China to take on more debt in response to Trump tariffs
China’s central bank ‘allows yuan to depreciate’ as trade risk
Chinese media on Trump: “There are no winners in the tariff war”
China ‘keen to negotiate trade deal to reduce tariff threat’
Economists say Trump will not impose 60% tariffs on China as soon as possible
US adds 30 more Chinese companies to blacklist for forced Uyghur labor
