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>> According to Mr. Stengel, who was in the conversation, Mr. Kerry turned to Mr. Cui and asked: “Have we ever limited where you can go?” > Mr. Cui replied: “N
by rdtsc 8y ago
>> According to Mr. Stengel, who was in the conversation, Mr. Kerry turned to Mr. Cui and asked: “Have we ever limited where you can go?”
> Mr. Cui replied: “Not yet.”
That's an interesting reply. It seems the Chinese govt. doesn't shy from and would even benefit from a higher intensity conflict with the West especially US. So they are trying to ratchet it up a bit. They didn't give any official reason for closures, but it seems one of the reasons is to have US respond and close Confucius Institutes. Which in turn would elicit another response from the Chinese and so on, up until it gets to a level they are comfortable with.
- bjourne 8y agoPerhaps the US administration stands to benefit from tensions too? After all, it is the US (Trump) that has started unprovoked giant trade wars with the result of the world (including China), not the other way around. Sometimes it is silly to argue "who started it" but other times it is not. In this case, afaik, Trump started it.
- rdtsc 8y ago> Perhaps the US administration stands to benefit from tensions too? After all, it is the US (Trump) that has started unprovoked giant trade wars ... Ok, but how did he manage to do that during Kerry's and Stengel's time? I don't remember Kerry being his Sec. of State. And if US stands to benefit, why did Kerry ask Cui why they were doing it? There might be some confusion here about the timeline. Blaming him for overfeeding the koi, shaking Macron's hand for too long, or drinking too much diet coke is fun but traveling back in time is a bit too much one might say ;-) > Sometimes it is silly to argue "who started it" but other times it is not. In this case, afaik, Trump started it. Alright, then so then Trump is justified in his trade wars because he didn't start it?
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- zwaps 8y agoCounterpoint: China is engaged in extreme mercantilism and its declared goal and modus operandi has been state sponsored IP theft up to sabotage of abroad markets, something that was even declared in the "China 2025" program. CCP is even coercing and blackmailing nationals or people with ties to China to spy for them. Indeed, the last weeks have been filled with report about that. Ever tried to actually sell things in China, compared to the US? Who started it? Why not China?
- shanghaiaway 8y agoTell me what you learnt when you sold things in China.
- bjourne 8y agoForced technology transfers has been a cost Western companies have been willing to shoulder to get access to China's lucrative markets. It is also a policy that has been in place for a very long time and is not directed at the United States specifically. Grievances against China can be brought through the WTO. And the Trump tariffs has hit a lot more countries than China. For example, I don't think the EU started the fight with the US...