While unable to alter Duterte’s diplomatic strategy towards China, the influential and largely autonomous Philippine defense establishment is conducting a parallel China policy of its own. The result is a dualistic foreign policy, combining both engagement and deterrence.

Considering the Sino-US trade war to be a mere quibble over tariffs and deficits misses the big picture: the clash of these two economic titans threatens not only bilateral relations, but also global prosperity and even the peaceful world order that has prevailed since World War II.

As America’s China policy turns from engagement to competition, Beijing must face facts: Trump or no Trump, the US has reached bipartisan consensus on containing China. How should Beijing respond? Where will the current confrontation lead? In crafting a new strategy towards the US, China must consider the ultimate goal of its rise, and how America fits into the big picture.

Under Trump the US has moved towards warmer relations with Russia to counterbalance China’s rise. But existing legislative constraints—along with ongoing points of US-Russian enmity over Ukraine, election interference, and nuclear issues — make short-term détente unlikely.

A senior U.S. State Department official’s inflammatory comments about a “Clash of Civilizations” reignited debate about how to view history and differing cultures. The Conference on Asian Civilizations Dialogue, hosted in Beijing this May, offered a more level-headed and equitable path to understand civilizational differences.

President Trump never intended to resolve the trade war he created with China. Instead, he will leverage his tariffs to blackmail China into following his way.

US Secretary of State Pompeo is acting more like his country’s top spy than its top diplomat—this aggressive posture is disorienting not only China but the world. The Trump administration’s meandering foreign policy has been further damaged by these mixed-up roles.

Trade negotiations between the United States and China have broken down because the US government says the Chinese were walking back their agreement on matters that had previously been addressed. US negotiators and President Donald Trump were furious, and on May 10, Trump more than doubled US tariffs on $200 billion worth of imports from China. The lead Chinese negotiator, Liu He, told reporters that, because a final agreement was not reached, revisions were not “walked back,” a line that the US side does not seem to buy. The Chinese government has now retaliated, announcing that it will raise tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods.

On May 21, 2019, Ambassador Cui Tiankai had an interview with the Fox News's Bret Baier Special Report.

The recent crisis in Venezuela showed diverging Chinese and American attitudes towards global governance: China’s longstanding commitment to non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, and rejection of military force as a tool of diplomacy; contrasted with the Trump administration’s response, that displayed America’s penchant for interventionism backed up by the US military.