UNITED STATES “Our only priority is China”

This is how Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Defence Minister, defined the policy that Washington intends to pursue during a meeting with his NATO allies. First measures: since 4 March, 20% tariffs are to be applied to Chinese goods entering the United States.

These new tariffs will be in addition to those introduced during Trump’s first term, which have continued and were strengthened during the four years of Biden’s presidency.

Why China, and why upset a world order already dominated by American multinationals and the dollar?

US Secretary of State (Foreign Minister) Marco Rubio explained before the Senate: “The post-war world order is not only obsolete, it is now a weapon used against us”, because “we welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into the world order, it took advantage of all its benefits and ignored all its obligations and responsibilities”. He recognises, however, that China “has served us well”, referring to the capitalist multinational exploiters who have been able to take advantage of the low labour costs of tens of millions of workers, deprived of rights by the bureaucrats of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. But today the crisis of imperialism has reached such a degree that, Rubio points out, “we are once again called upon to create a free world out of chaos”.

For the Communist Party leaders can coax the private sector all they like, promising the capitalists the earth, the Chinese economy is still not based on the “free market”, but on State ownership: more than 80% of economic activity, in value, is the product of State or public ownership and therefore under the control of the Communist Party. And, from the point of view of North American capitalists, there are far too many obstacles to “free market” in China: State ownership, but also the five-year plan, the monopoly on foreign trade, « negative listing » and public procurement, all sectors in which capitalists are not allowed to invest…In a word, this economy is not “free and open” and does not respect “its obligations” in the eyes of Trump and company.

Before leaving the presidency, Biden had announced a series of measures designed to strengthen export bans on high-end microchips to China. He had also launched an investigation to sanction a decision by Beijing to merge two State-owned shipyards. He believed that this “unfair practice” was damaging to the interests of the United States! We can bet that Trump and his friends will do even worse.

For good measure, the day after Trump’s inauguration, Rubio had summoned the members of the so-called Quad alliance to Washington. The governments of Australia, India, Japan and the United States reiterated their “common commitment to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific region”, “the issues of critical minerals and supply chain security” being the responsibility of another American alliance, this one military, AUKUS, an anti-Chinese military alliance that brings together the Australian, British and American governments.

Alain Denizo