Who Knew? Xi Jinping is a Tom Petty Fan

Kowtow

Trump’s tariff lollapalooza is turning into a disastrous carnival rollercoaster and China ain’t paying to ride. It appears that one of Trump’s objectives in unleashing the tariff tsunami was to isolate China. I will explain that in a minute. As I read and listened to China’s pushback against Trump, I could only hear the voice of the late Tom Petty singing defiantly:

[Note: if you look carefully at the video, you will see Ringo Starr playing the drums and George Harrison playing backup.]

Xi ain’t backing down. He will not kowtow to Donald Trump. If you want to know China’s position on trade relations with the United States, I encourage you to read the following document: China’s Position on Some Issues Concerning China-US Economic and Trade Relations. Worth noting is that this paper was published exactly one week after Trump’s Liberation Day festivities. The Chinese likely suspected Trump was going to scapegoat them, and Xi ordered his economic team to prepare a factual document on Chinese/American trade relations.

Now, let me explain why the tariff attack on China is not an isolated incident. This appears to be a coordinated political and diplomatic attack as well, involving the US and the Europeans. First, consider what the US State Department spokeswoman, Tammy Bruce, said in response to questions about Ukraine reportedly capturing two Chinese citizens allegedly fighting for Russia. On April 8, Bruce described this development as “disturbing” and emphasized that China is a significant enabler of Russia’s war effort by supplying nearly 80% of the dual-use items Russia requires to sustain its military operations. She also highlighted the broader implications of the growing partnership between China and Russia, warning that it exacerbates global instability and undermines security worldwide.

Second, you know your in the middle of an intel information operation when the Europeans parrot the same crap. Yesterday (April 9), the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Ms. Kaja Kallas, labeled China as the “main sponsor” or “key enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine. She emphasized that without Chinese support, Russia would not be able to sustain its military campaign at its current scale. She highlighted that 80% of dual-use goods—items that can be used for both civilian and military purposes—enter Russia through China. Kallas argued that if China genuinely wanted to halt its support for Russia, it would significantly impact the conflict.

Kallas also addressed reports of two Chinese citizens captured by Ukrainian forces while fighting alongside Russian troops in Donetsk. While she clarified that this does not imply direct involvement by the Chinese military, she noted that China likely has relevant information about these individuals. Ukrainian intelligence has identified at least 155 Chinese nationals fighting for Russia, raising concerns about China’s indirect involvement in the war.

If you think the alleged capture of two Chinese, shortly after Trump’s Liberation Day tariff party, followed by a coordinated denunciation of China by the US State Department and the European Union is just a coincidence, I have a winning lottery ticket to sell you. Hell, Tammy Bruce and Kaja Kallas are reading from the same script… Not too subtle.

This is a clumsy, stupid initiative by Trump. Whatever economic pain is inflicted on China, it will not be enough to force Xi to come crawling to Trump begging for relief. Ain’t going to happen. If there is some crow to be eaten, it is likely that Donald Trump will be the eater-in-Chief.

Here is my chat today with Danny Davis, followed by my conversation with Garland Nixon. Danny and I spend most of our time talking about Ukraine, while Garland and I focus on the tariff fiasco.