The President’s Press Secretary likes to say President Trump relies on common sense. That is good but then everyone else can look at the situation and determine if the President’s sense is good or bad.

In an article by David Pierson and Berry Wang of the New York Times News Service, it seems the China strategy is to exploit President Trump’s greatest weaknesses to exert maximal pressure and use the time gained to strengthen China’s position.

President Trump imposed 145% tariffs on China, rather than yielding, China used its control over critical minerals (90% of the world’s critical minerals are owned by Chinese companies and processed in China). while steering the focus to protracted talks instead of concrete results.

Meetings such as the ones in London, England and Geneva, Switzerland keep the US mired in negotiations over vague procedural steps, such as setting a framework for future steps. This means while Washington says China subsidizes industries unfairly, dumps goods overseas and limited foreign companies’ ability to do business in China, those issues are not addressed in the meetings.

Jonathan Czin, a fellow at the Brookings Institute believes China is very comfortable with this cycle of economic skirmishing with the US followed by episodes of diplomacy that merely returns to the status quo.

Kristen Asdal of the Asdal Advisory which focuses on China, believes we can see the increasing measures China has been taking behind the scenes to get a firm central hold on strategic minerals. That way, China can tighten or loosen with great precision and responsiveness to political conditions. That is a sign it can leverage for a long time to come.

President Trump meanwhile has overstated his position in terms of results expected in 90 days which fall on July 9. If he has no deal with China, then what?

It is important to note China’s economy is not as strong as it was exports which is China’s chief economic engine, has slowed due to tariffs. The country’s property market is still digging its way out of a crisis and electric vehicles have been hit by overcapacity and a price war. It addition, there is great amount of debt in China.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, we all have some common sense, but it has to balance with what is really happening with the data. In government, there are often competing interests, and the government is supposed to try to balance those interests, if not the old Aesop’s tale about the Emperor’s new clothes ring true.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.