Whatever triggered his tweet, however, Trump was clearly frustrated by the slow progress of the negotiations. Although the trade negotiators continued their talks in both Beijing and Washington, the Mar-a-Lago summit never happened. However, the U.S. negotiators chose a very legalistic approach to addressing the IPR issue, an approach that seldom works in China. A New York Times article in March presciently explained how China’s “century of humiliation” that began with the “unequal treaties” of the 19th century after the first Opium War is “haunting” today’s trade talks between the two countries. As a result, he is willing to take steps in dealing with China that no country or U.S. has ever contemplated.

Source: Forbes May 23, 2019 04:30 UTC