Insider

Your all-access pass to FP

Trump’s ‘Madman Theory’ of Trade with China

Economist Patrick Chovanec says it could still work, but the president could play a much better hand by bringing in U.S. allies.

By , a deputy news editor at Foreign Policy.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He shakes hands with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer alongside U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin after trade talks between the two countries broke down on May 10.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He shakes hands with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer alongside U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin after trade talks between the two countries broke down on May 10.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He shakes hands with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer alongside U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin after trade talks between the two countries broke down on May 10. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

A year of contentious trade talks between China and the United States blew up on Friday as the Trump administration jacked up tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars on Chinese imports and trade negotiators failed to reach any sort of agreement after two days of talks in Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, launched a tweetstorm about using tariff revenues (paid by American consumers) to buy off American farmers hurt by Chinese retaliation.

Keith Johnson is a deputy news editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @KFJ_FP

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.