The "Trade" Talks

The consultations between Chinese and American representatives in Geneva, Switzerland, over May 10 and 11, have ended. He Lifeng, the Chinese leader of China-US economic and trade and Vice Premier of the State Council, held a press conference that was reported by Guancha. As emphasized in previous media releases, the meeting didn’t involve negotiations; rather, the aim was to establish to proper atmosphere for negotiations. That must be kept in mind as you read the following:

The high-level economic and trade talks between China and the United States were held in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 10 and 11. He Lifeng, the Chinese leader of China-US economic and trade and Vice Premier of the State Council, said at a press conference held by the Chinese delegation on the evening of the 11th local time that the high-level economic and trade talks between China and the United States were candid, in-depth and constructive, reached important consensus, and made substantial progress. The two sides agreed to establish a mechanism for economic and trade consultations between China and the United States. China and the United States will finalize the relevant details as soon as possible and will release a joint statement on May 12.

He Lifeng said: Under the current situation, the talks have attracted great attention from the international community. Through the joint efforts of China and the United States, the talks were fruitful, an important step was taken to resolve differences through dialogue and consultation on an equal footing, and the foundation and conditions were laid for further bridging differences and deepening cooperation.

He Lifeng said that China-US economic and trade relations are not only of great significance to the two countries but also have an important impact on the stability and development of the global economy. China is ready to work with the US side to actively implement the important consensus reached in the phone call between the two heads of state on January 17 this year, and in a pragmatic manner to solve problems, engage in frank dialogue, consult on an equal footing, manage differences, tap the potential of cooperation, lengthen the list of cooperation, make the cooperation cake bigger, promote new development of China-US economic and trade relations, and inject more certainty and stability into the world economy. [My Emphasis]

That comes across as a very tall order for Team Trump. The joint statement isn’t available yet, but I can’t imagine there’ll be much deviation with the above. Additional pressure is being applied by California Governor Gavin Newsom as this portion of another report tells us:

On May 10, local time, California Governor Newsom, who is believed to have been keen on "showing up and provocative" in the conservative media, announced that he had placed an "anti-tariff" advertisement on Fox News. In his ad, he warned that the tariffs could "end America's position as the world's largest economy."

Newsom announced the news on social media X on the 10th. According to him, the ad will air on Fox News "all weekend" and is intended to send a "clear message" to the Trump administration: "stop punishing American families." He said tariff policy was causing "serious damage" to the U.S. economy.

And then there’s this very large issue that’s under the radar because of what it is—the global debt problem, not that of the Outlaw US Empire. Trump’s trade War creates a clear moral hazard that under the law turns those debts odious and thus refutable. Dr. Hudson’s been talking about this issue for years. Trump’s actions have given the deeply indebted Global South nations an opportunity they ought to take. This is from a recent talk:

Well, if the United States and its tariff policy and its creditor policy prevents other countries from paying their debts by making exports to the United States and using their export proceeds to pay their creditors, then the United States has prevented the debts from being paid. It has turned the international debt system into odious debts.

And there’s a long discussion dating back a century on odious debts and why odious debts must not be paid because they’re odious. And so I think the debtor countries can get together and say, we are suspending our debt obligations now because the United States prevents us from paying. The United States blocks us from exporting not only to the United States by the tariffs, but to China and Asia that are the growing countries.

But if we can’t export, how on earth can we pay our debts except by selling off every acre of land that the government owns, every public utility, every asset that the government owns? And this is itself an odious economic dynamic. And so we are suspending our debt payment with the intention that this suspending will be permanent until such time as we can make a new beginning and use a credit to finance our economic growth and development and economic self-sufficiency in agriculture, in basic consumer goods, in industry. [My Emphasis]

That would be a shocker to the Creditor Class that backs and is part of Team Trump. IMO, the Trade War has opened the door for other issues to be examined and solutions provided. One thing’s certain: The new international system of commerce and finance won’t be made unilaterally; it will be constructed by consensus, which is what’s happening now and is being drowned out by war and genocide. As we read above, once trade negotiations commence, they’ll take weeks perhaps months where even if China’s tariff amount is halved to 72% US importers and the ports their goods land at will be hit by Depression. I’m thinking of all the Dollar Trees, Dollar Generals, and their ilk that are tremendously dependent on China for their merchandise, and all the people employed by the logistics chain. One thing’s certain: Anger in America will increase and those angry people will know who made them angry.

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