President Donald Trump has announced he will leave for Beijing in May, with the United States likely still dealing with the economic fallout from its reckless and costly war against Iran. Gas prices are rising, the stock market is plummeting and American manufacturers, farmers and families are paying more for essential goods as Trump continues to impose sweeping tariffs on America’s trading partners.
China, on the other hand, enjoys stronger economic and strategic advantages than before President Trump began his second term. The president’s chaotic tariff policies were declared illegal by the Supreme Court and have failed to rebalance America’s economic relationship with China. At the same time, it has severely weakened the global coalition of U.S. allies and partners needed to counter Beijing’s unfair economic policies.
Despite Trump’s tariffs, the US global goods trade deficit rose to a record high of $1.23 trillion last year – more than $105 billion more than the average goods deficit under President Joe Biden. Meanwhile, China’s trade surplus with the world ballooned, rising from $992 billion in 2024 to an unprecedented $1.2 trillion in 2025.
While the U.S. bilateral trade deficit with China has narrowed, China now simply routes many of its goods — often illegally — through third countries to the United States, a worrying trend that the Trump administration has failed to address.
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President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping are preparing for an important summit in May. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty Images)
The administration’s chaotic policies have harmed American manufacturers, farmers and longshoremen — groups critical to U.S. competition with China that President Trump claimed his policies would help. Since he returned to power, US manufacturing has lost about 100,000 jobs and industry construction has fallen by 12%.
American farmers have lost more than $14 billion in sales to China and paid more than $4 billion in higher input costs. Trump’s impulsive trade actions towards China have hit soy farmers particularly hard: in 2025, China bought a paltry 7.4 tons of American soybeans, compared to 26.8 million tons in 2024.
Momentum to rebuild the U.S. shipbuilding industry, which has drawn support from both political parties and major industrial unions, has also stalled after Trump suspended critical fees on Chinese ships following a meeting with Xi in South Korea last year.
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The president has further jeopardized the prospects for workers at U.S. shipyards and ports by attacking the offshore wind industry, which was forced to cancel ship orders and labor contracts after his administration cut hundreds of millions of dollars in government aid.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles (R) and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (L) look at their smartphones as President Donald Trump speaks to the press about a critical mineral stockpile with $12 billion in initial financing, as Washington seeks to reduce dependence on China for rare earths and other resources, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 2, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
In short, Trump has done little to level the playing field with China and address his non-market policies, which have caused an estimated 3.7 million Americans to lose good-paying jobs and contributed to the closure of nearly 70,000 U.S. factories between 2001 and 2018. In fact, he has only made matters worse. Trump’s visit to China could be yet another example of his art of wheezing – and not of the art of the deal.
When he meets Xi, Trump should start by demanding that the Chinese Communist Party agree to rebalance our economic relationship and apply the same rules as us. This means operating according to market-oriented principles, upholding basic human rights and ceasing to distort markets with blanket subsidies, illegal dumping, intellectual property theft and currency manipulation. China’s suppression of labor rights and wages, including the use of forced labor, is particularly devastating to American workers.
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Trump must be particularly forceful in demanding these changes to Beijing’s policies in the rare earths sector, where price manipulation, heavy subsidies, and lack of worker and environmental protections have suppressed competition, giving the CCP a dangerous monopoly on an industry that supports U.S. national defense and economic security.
If China does not support this constructive rebalancing of our relations, we must be open to a review of the permanent status of China’s normal trade relations, which gives China privileged access to the US market.
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Momentum to rebuild the U.S. shipbuilding industry, which has drawn support from both political parties and major industrial unions, has also stalled after Trump suspended critical fees on Chinese ships following a meeting with Xi in South Korea last year.
In the meantime, we should impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties, as well as targeted tariffs in sectors where China’s overcapacity and other unfair practices threaten American interests. Most importantly, we must invest the revenues from these tariffs in a new fund to rebuild domestic production in crucial industries.
Trump must also clearly communicate to Xi that his escalating threats against Taiwan are unacceptable and that any war would be a disaster. Unfortunately, Trump’s war in Iran, which costs American taxpayers an estimated $1 billion per day, has forced the Pentagon to withdraw key capabilities from the Indo-Pacific, weakening effective deterrence. His government’s decision to delay a major arms sales package to Taiwan ahead of his trip and Taiwan’s omission from the National Defense Strategy are likely to further embolden Xi.
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Rather than abandoning our partners, Trump should rally America’s allies to counter China’s non-market practices, revitalize America’s and our allies’ industrial base, and push back against China’s attempts to creep toward hegemony in Asia.
Any deal President Trump considers with China must put American workers, farmers and families first and include a clear commitment to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific. Failure to do so would lead to yet another failed summit with Xi and only further endanger the American economy and our friends.
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