No one doubts that China and its dictator, Xi Jinping, are cleaning President Biden’s clock. The Communist Chinese have total control of Hong Kong and have brutally eliminated any vestige of liberties left by Great Britain. The Chinese ships continue to create islands and beachheads in the South China Sea, which threatens the Philippines. Xi makes nice to his fellow dictator Vladimir Putin and supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. After Chinese spy balloons flew across America, Xi demanded that Biden participate in a photo-op and chummy walk in the California woods — and Biden did as he was told.
President Biden did sign a ban of Chinese-owned TikTok, and the Chinese response is a shrug; they will find a way to ignore the new American law. Xi fully intends to take control of the only Chinese democracy (Taiwan), but Xi is patient and biding his time for the best opportunity when America is at a very weak point.
Even though Biden has generally continued the Trump tariffs on China, the tariffs have not had their intended effect. China simply floods the world market with excess production, which drives the price down for everyone, including American manufacturers.
For example, China produces 55% of the world’s steel through state-run and state-subsidised factories. Even though very little of the steel is imported to the United States, this glut of steel has driven down the price so that some American steel manufacturers have idled production. The U.S. raising our tariffs to import steel does not stop the Chinese from producing and selling steel to other countries. The 2022 “Inflation Reduction Act” included provisions to try to make American steel more competitive by spending taxpayer money throughout the manufacturing process. Chinese steel is still cheaper because the Chinese state purposely undercuts the world price.
The World Trade Organization is also useless in controlling Chinese mercantilism. WTO classifies China as a “developing” nation, so they get to play by different rules. China exploits its position by assembling Chinese-made automobiles in Mexico, so that the cars with subsidized Chinese steel can be imported to the United States at reduced tariffs under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Steel and automobiles are not the only manufacturing areas that the Communist Chinese have learned how to evade sanctions and then dominate the market. The Chinese have capitalized on the climate change alarmists and now China controls 80% of the solar panel market.
Xi does not fear sleepy Joe Biden, but he does fear the potential return of an unpredictable President Trump. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Xi has “dead eyes” and is “the most dangerous man in the world.”