In Donald J. Trump and China John Franklin Copper examines President Trump’s views of China that developed before and after he entered office. As a businessman and witness to U.S. politics and foreign policy, Trump realized China was the most important country in the world to the United States. He also recognized that one of the key difficulties in American trade policy was the imbalance between the United States and China. Copper argues that Trump blamed previous U.S. policy-makers for the disparity and was determined to rectify the imbalance. Trump undertook formulating a new China policy in spite of non-supporters in the Democratic Party, the media, academia, and Hollywood. Donald Trump accepted China’s rise as an economic power and felt he could negotiate with President Xi to construct a positive relationship that would benefit both countries, save the global financial system, curb nuclear proliferation, and save the environment. Ultimately, Copper asserts that Trump knew a constructive relationship with China would be challenging; however, he also understood that this is the nature of big power politics and that strategic negotiations and realism would ensure peace between these two powerful countries.
