According to the Global Times, former US President Trump formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, with an image of Trump waving his fist on the screen. Trump's nearly 93-minute speech at the Republican National Convention was the longest speech at the convention in modern US history, marking the climax and end of the four-day Republican mass mobilization meeting.
The US presidential election is underway, and the suspense is growing. Trump has also solemnly stated that if he is elected, he will terminate Biden’s electric vehicle mandate on the first day and let the auto manufacturing industry return to the United States. If these Chinese companies are unwilling to manufacture cars in the United States and are unwilling to let Americans manage them, then a tariff of 100% to 200% will be imposed on each car, making it impossible for them to be sold in the United States. Officially nominated as the Republican presidential candidate, his identity has just changed. The Republican Party has issued a platform for China, which sends a strong signal. If Trump is really elected, will Sino-US relations ease?
Trump attended the Republican National Convention. At this convention, Trump swept the majority of the votes of the national convention delegates and became the official presidential candidate of the Republican Party of the United States. Trump has been the pre-determined candidate for several months. At this convention, Trump also announced his campaign team, and Senator Vance was nominated as the Republican vice presidential candidate. A closer look at Trump's campaign team will show that it is composed of a group of extreme right-wing elements. For example, Senator Rubio, who has very rich diplomatic experience. Biden's campaign team said that the vice presidential candidate Vance is a right-wing extremist.
At the Republican National Convention, after being nominated as a presidential candidate, Trump quickly finalized his policy plan, the core of which was still "containing China." It was revealed that according to the draft submitted by the Trump team, their policy plan mainly consists of six points, namely adjusting the US dollar interest rate, solving inflation, curbing immigration, reducing the fiscal deficit, tariffs and the TikTok plan. However, judging from the specific content, Trump believes that the biggest problem in the United States is the economy, and the main problem of the economy is the hollowing out of the industry and the large-scale loss of manufacturing. However, Trump blames China for the hollowing out of the US industry.
Trump fiercely criticized the Biden administration's policies, pointing to soaring inflation, the influx of illegal immigrants and the chaotic international situation. He said: "We are facing an inflation crisis that makes life unbearable. It is eroding the income of working-class and low-income families and impacting our people in an unprecedented way." He accused illegal immigrants of "destroying our country" and said he would close the border and continue to build the US-Mexico border wall to end the "illegal immigration crisis." AFP said that Trump, as always, portrayed the United States as a ruin that has been destroyed and needs to be saved.
In terms of the international situation, Trump said: "Wars are raging in Europe and the Middle East, and more and more conflicts are shadowing Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines and all of Asia." Trump claimed that he was the only one who did not initiate conflicts, and only he could Stop conflict. He vowed to end all international crises created by the Biden administration, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestine-Israel conflict. He also emphasized that he would supplement the US military and establish the "Iron Dome" missile defense system. The entire speech lasted about an hour and a half, during which Trump mentioned China 14 times, but it was not a systematic discussion, but interspersed with boasts and policy promises.
It is reported that while cutting federal income taxes, tariffs on foreign goods will be significantly increased to generate revenue. But economists warn that such a shift could exacerbate the already serious gap between the rich and the poor in the United States. According to people present, Trump's statement was more like an improvisation than a firm policy proposal. Nevertheless, the idea has aroused the "interest" of many Republicans. For example, Trump's ally, Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, said that Trump told Republican colleagues at the time that he was "willing to raise tariffs" and cut the federal income taxes paid by Americans, possibly even to zero.
Trump is a pragmatist who prioritizes American interests, and his campaign platform is also "Make America Great Again". As the United States' national strength is weakening and China's national strength is growing, the two major parties in the United States have reached a consensus that China is the United States' biggest strategic rival. Relatively speaking, Russia is only a recent rival. Trump has repeatedly stated that if he is elected president, he will immediately end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. So where will the United States focus its shrinking strength? That is against China. The Trump team has determined that it will contain China diplomatically and militarily, and by increasing investment in the Indo-Pacific region and forcing small countries to take sides, it will isolate China diplomatically.
China has already had countermeasures for this. If Trump really upgrades tariff barriers again after taking office, my country will take unexpected tough measures. However, before that, my country will still accelerate the strategic process of "domestic and international dual circulation" and strive to find new foreign trade exports to replace trade with the United States. Trump has launched trade wars, technology wars, financial wars, and public opinion wars against China. The so-called "decoupling from China" has caused heavy losses to the United States. Trump has a lot of responsibility for the current state of Sino-US relations. If Trump enters the White House again, China and the United States may usher in a more intense game, but China has also made various preparations.