Donald Trump’s new security strategy leaves China perplexed

'China doesn't pay much attention to what Trump says, it mainly pays attention to what Trump does'

In the run-up to President Donald Trump's national security address on Monday, officials hinted it would set a new tough tone on China. That did not quite happen.

Though the closely-watched speech saw Mr Trump call China and Russia "rival powers," the rest of the address did not play out as predicted, with the president offering few new details on his China plans.

The softer-than-expected speech capped a year of mixed signals on how the Trump administration plans to handle Beijing, deepening questions about the future of US-China ties.

The headline of an editorial published by China Daily, a Communist Party-controlled newspaper, captured the confusion: "US national security strategy is still a work in progress," it read.

Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University and a leading expert on Chinese diplomacy, was equally perplexed. "What is the strategy after all? It's not clear," he said.

Shi, like several other Chinese experts, read Monday's speech as a sign that the White House may adopt a tougher line on China, but cautioned against taking Mr Trump at his word.

"China doesn't pay much attention to what Trump says, it mainly pays attention to what Trump does," he said.

"We need to wait and see what he will do rather than what he said," echoed Lu Xiang, an expert in Sino-US relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.

The gap between what Mr Trump has said on China and what he's done is the source of much debate here - and Monday's speech did little to change that.

As a candidate,Mr Trump regularly lashed out at China, even accusing the country of "raping" the United States. As president, he has veered between tough talk - on North Korea, for instance - and sweet talk - mostly reserved for China's "highly respected" authoritarian leader, Xi Jinping.

Over the weekend, reports circulated that Mr Trump's speech and strategy would treat China as a competitor and call out the country's "economic aggression." But only the first part made the cut.

In his remarks, MrTrump called China and Russia "rival powers" that "seek to challenge American influence, values and wealth."

He went on to say the United States will "attempt to build a great partnership with those and other countries, but in a manner that always protects our national interest."

The strategy document offered a bit more detail. "China and Russia challenge American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity," it reads.

"They are determined to make economies less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their societies and expand their influence."

Language like "rival" is part of a White House push to frame China as a "strategic competitor" instead of a "strategic partner" - a rhetorical shift that did not go unnoticed by the Chinese.

"Cooperation is the only correct choice for China and the United States," Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a regular press briefing on Tuesday.

"We urge the US side to stop distorting China's strategic intentions," she said.

The China Daily editorial noted that President George W Bush described China as a strategic competitor when he came to power, but over time "came to see China as a 'responsible stakeholder,' paving the way for years of stability in Sino-US relations."

Scott Kennedy, director of the project on Chinese business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the "competition" framing would irk Beijing, but not as much as it used to.

"The Chinese leadership has already decided that the US is a strategic rival," he said.

Their thinking, in terms of the word "partnership," is, "You might say it, and we might say it, but we won't necessarily believe it."

The text of the strategy document offered some clues to how the Trump administration sees the rivalry. It briefly mentions, for instance, Chinese military advancements and the fact that Beijing uses investment in the developing world to cultivate influence.

It also notes that every year "competitors such as China steal US intellectual property valued at hundreds of billions."

The document says the United States "must defend our National Security Innovation Base (NSIB) against competitors," but does not spell out what policy changes, if any, are to come.

To Chinese experts, the lack of specificity was generally taken as a sign of US weakness.

Victor Gao, a Beijing-based current affairs commentator and former translator for Deng Xiaoping, said the idea that US global leadership cannot be challenged now looks "negotiable."

"As the top dog, the number one country in the world, you should make an effort to protect your world leader status," he said.

"If another country has better growth and a better developmental strategy, you should be humble and learn from them rather than repeatedly saying, 'You should not challenge me.' "

The Washington Post