Trump's trade war is cracking the West's unity, former Chinese envoy says
Donald Trump's aggressive trade policies have fractured Western unity, potentially reshaping the global order as allies consider alternatives, according to a veteran Chinese diplomat.
Wu Hailong, president of the semi-official China Public Diplomacy Association, said the US leader's
global tariff war had worsened US conflicts with its partners, shaking the foundation of transatlantic ties.
Addressing the Global Prosperity Summit in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Wu said the fault lines opening up in the relations
between the United States and its Western allies amounted to the biggest shift in post-war international relations.
Those fault lines were in part created by Trump's accusations that allies were exploiting US economic and military advantages, his pledges to annex Canada and
buy Greenland , and his sidelining of Europe in talks with Russia over the Ukraine war.
They were compounded by tariffs announced on almost all trading partners in April. Those tariffs have since been
suspended for 90 days , but US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that they could be reimposed if trading partners did not negotiate in 'good faith'.
00:45
Trump says he can see himself dealing directly with Xi on US-China trade deal details
Trump says he can see himself dealing directly with Xi on US-China trade deal details
Wu said this could see US allies weighing fresh options.
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