Dealmakers always know when to cut their losses. And so it is with the self-proclaimed greatest dealmaker of them all: US President Donald Trump. Having promised a Grand Deal with China, the 13th round of bilateral trade negotiations ended on October 11 with barely a whimper, yielding a watered-down partial agreement: the “phase one” accord.

Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of the Hong Kong protests reflects deeper bias, misinformation and conflicting accounts about recent events in Hong Kong. A more nuanced understanding of the situation is warranted.

Hong Kong, the world’s most densely populated region, is a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong’s economic and governing affairs are self-regulated due to its special status. Hong Kong has its own legal system and judiciary, and rights and freedoms not seen in mainland China. This special status is due to end in 2047.

The latest round of tariffs against China may be the blow that eventually knocks down an already wobbly American economy.

Ten consecutive weeks of protest have shaken Hong Kong.

The widespread protests in Hong Kong, which led to the defeat of a perceived pro-Beijing extradition bill, has only emboldened the pro-independence movement in Taiwan. With all sides hardening their respective positions, Taiwan is quickly turning into the front-line of Sino-American Cold War in the Indo-Pacific.

The normalization of U.S. Coast Guard presence in the South China Sea is likely to lead to greater competition and interference. Far from keeping the peace, U.S. intrusions into the region are deliberate exercises of power that aim to assert control.

Trump’s most recent memo to the WTO is the latest in a series of unilateral aggressions by the U.S. Given the relentless combativeness of the Trump Administration in global trade more broadly, the memo targeting WTO norms is unlikely to have any productive results.

Recent protests in Hong Kong should be seen by Beijing not as an occasion to crack down, but as an opportunity to showcase the PRC’s virtues. The ability to persuade others to follow is the ultimate test of leadership.

In a deliberate attempt to stave off a diplomatic crisis with Beijing, President Duterte contradicted Filipino defense and military officials and downplayed the collision of a Chinese vessel into a Filipino fishing boat as a maritime accident rather than a direct attack. Most Filipino officials see this incident as jut the latest of China’s attempts to maneuver for control of the South China Sea.