The day after tomorrow, Trump is coming to China.

After 9 whole years, he is finally stepping onto this land again.
But back in 2017, it was completely different from now.
Last time he came, he had the sword of the trade war in his hand—he had all the cards and plenty of confidence, clearly looking to press China down.
What about this time?
Over in Iran, military spending is burning hot; at home, inflation can’t be brought under control; the Supreme Court has just ruled that his tariff policies are unconstitutional; global supply chains have been looped around in a big circle—only to end up back in China’s embrace.
To put it plainly: this time isn’t about coming to negotiate conditions—it’s about coming to seek a way out.
The core is just three things: how tariffs can be reduced, how chip controls can be loosened, and how rare earth supply can be kept going.
What’s interesting is—on every one of these, the initiative isn’t in his hands.