In the end, as I suspected, there was neither the time nor the inclination to pursue a grand bargain with the Chinese. Trump received the usual vague assurances about purchases of American beef and airplanes, which may be good news for ranchers and Boeing, but not particularly for you and me. For his part, Trump was using language which suggests he can turn off Taiwanese purchases of American weapons when it suits him to appease the Chinese. That suggests–as many of us have long predicted–that Taiwan is now a bargaining chip in our relationship with the Chinese.
If you live on Taiwan, you should be very, very concerned. For the people of America, it is time to give up any illusions that Trump is determined to completely remake our relationship with the Chinese government. China has become, to him, just the first among equals when it comes to ripping us off. Since the Chinese have leverage that other countries don’t, he will leave them alone and direct his bullying tactics at weaker victims.