Part 8/10:
This wasn’t about friendship or ideology. It was about survival—economic, strategic, and regional. Xi Jinping’s decision to back down was driven by the realization that maintaining the status quo was risking economic decline and regional instability.
Trump’s approach was simple yet profound: use timing, economic leverage, and the understanding of Chinese vulnerabilities to redirect their priorities. He didn’t negotiate from weakness; he negotiated from strength—in particular, from a position of economic necessity.