Trump’s choice of China hawks signals rough seas ahead for Sino-US ties

Foreign policy experts have projected that Beijing is in for an unprecedentedly tough time, now that Trump has begun to stack his new Cabinet with China hawks. While China has had the experience of dealing with Trump and his shock-and-awe approach and is better prepared to take the hits this time around, it needs to brace itself for a relationship that will be marked by greater confrontation and decoupling. “The Chinese will see this as Trump throwing down the gauntlet,” said Assoc Prof Hoo Tiang Boon, who studies China’s foreign policy and US-China relations at NTU Singapore. “Trump made this move out of his own political considerations, not necessarily because of specific foreign policy considerations,” he added. “But from the Chinese perspective, it will be seen as a slap in the face, and it will certainly create complications.”

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