China’s ambassador to the US has been scrambling to attach with potential Trump administration officers after a number of years of struggling to get conferences with Republicans in Washington.
Xie Feng has in latest months stepped up outreach in Washington by internet hosting dozens of former US officers and China consultants at his residence, based on folks accustomed to the state of affairs.
The engagements have change into extra essential following Donald Trump’s election victory as a result of the Chinese language embassy has had way more interplay with Democrats throughout Joe Biden’s presidency.
Evan Medeiros, a former high White Home Asia official, mentioned Trump’s victory caught China “flat footed”.
“They had been scrambling round Washington and New York to search out connections to Trump. They had been asking Democratic analysts tips on how to handle the Trump staff,” mentioned Medeiros, a Georgetown professor, who met Xie earlier than the election.
“They primarily have one play: persuade enterprise leaders round Trump to go tender on China.”
All ambassadors in Washington try to fulfill individuals who might be part of the brand new Trump administration. However Beijing faces a specific drawback as a result of Republicans have been unwilling to have interaction Chinese language officers in recent times as Washington has change into way more hawkish on China.
Ann Kowalewski, a former Home overseas affairs committee and Senate overseas relations committee staffer, mentioned many on Capitol Hill had been reluctant to fulfill Chinese language officers as a result of they felt the conferences wouldn’t be constructive. “There was a normal perception that conferences would simply be embassy officers studying speaking factors at them,” she mentioned.
Earlier this 12 months, Beijing tasked Cui Tiankai, its ambassador throughout Trump’s first administration, to reconnect along with his former contacts within the former president’s staff, however he was largely unsuccessful.
“Over the previous few months, influential members of the Chinese language Communist celebration visiting Washington indicated to me that they had been having no luck getting appointments” with potential Trump officers, mentioned Dennis Wilder, a former high CIA China knowledgeable.
In a foul omen for Beijing, Trump has nominated China hawks for high roles in his new administration, together with Mike Waltz for nationwide safety adviser and Marco Rubio for secretary of state.
However Chinese language officers are watching carefully to see who Trump will title as Treasury secretary — and whether or not Robert Lighthizer, his former commerce consultant, will be part of the brand new administration. They’re additionally taking note of the position of Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who has enterprise pursuits in China and has joined Trump’s internal circle.
A Waltz spokesperson mentioned he didn’t touch upon assembly requests. A Rubio spokesperson didn’t reply to a query about whether or not the Chinese language embassy had reached out. The embassy didn’t remark.
“They don’t seem to have the hyperlinks to the Trump staff they’d final time,” mentioned one one who has met Xie and his staff. “The core query they had been asking is: “what does Trump need?”
One former US official mentioned China needed “stability” and thought Trump needed to do a cope with Beijing, however they didn’t know what the president-elect needed and had been “in a holding sample” till negotiating channels emerged.
Christopher Johnson, a former high CIA China analyst, mentioned Chinese language officers had been laser-focused on financial coverage. “Their high three priorities are tariffs, tariffs, and tariffs,” mentioned Johnson, who heads the consultancy China Methods Group.
Johnson mentioned there was debate in Beijing between much less financial literate members of the politburo and technocrats over Trump’s risk to slap 60 per cent tariffs on imports from China.
“The previous take the view that, ‘We beat them earlier than and can achieve this once more as we all know tips on how to eat bitterness and the spoiled Individuals don’t.’ The technocrats . . . realise that 60 per cent tariffs — or maybe even smaller further levies — might show devastating for an already strained and deeply weak financial system,” he mentioned.
One individual in Beijing with connections to the Chinese language Communist celebration mentioned China needed to do a cope with Trump, if attainable.
“The problem is we don’t know what Trump’s purpose is [or] who can join the 2,” he mentioned. “After the 4 years of the primary time period, I actually don’t assume folks’s expectation in Beijing in the direction of a deal is excessive.”
One other individual accustomed to the pondering in Beijing mentioned it was “fairly pure” for China to fulfill consultants in Washington forward of the brand new administration.
One one who has engaged with the Chinese language embassy in Washington additionally identified that the very fact Xie was making an attempt exhausting to make connections didn’t imply that Beijing was at nighttime in regards to the incoming administration.
“Chinese language intelligence is sort of actually monitoring the approaching and goings at Mar-a-Lago,” the individual mentioned, referring to Trump’s West Palm Seashore membership the place he has been interviewing candidates for cupboard posts.
“Xie Feng is an skilled diplomat who is aware of that being Chinese language ambassador is a lonely job in Washington, significantly on this surroundings,” mentioned Myron Sensible, a senior counsellor with DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group, a consultancy, who has recognized Xie for years. He added that it might be an “uphill battle” for the ambassador given the hawkish temper in Washington.
However he famous: “It’s essential to notice that Trump has an present relationship with Xi and sure will emphasise his personal rapport and channel with the Chinese language president.”
