Michael Schuman

2 weeks ago | theatlantic.com | Michael Schuman

Just how mad is Beijing about President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke student visas for Chinese nationals? Not as mad as it says, and not as mad as one might expect. Publicly, China’s leadership will likely complain that Trump’s action is yet another attempt to thwart the country’s rise. But in reality, Beijing would probably just as soon keep its smartest kids at home.

4 weeks ago | theatlantic.com | Michael Schuman

In the early 1970s, President Richard Nixon made history by drawing Communist China closer to the United States, giving Washington an advantage in its Cold War contest with the Soviet Union. Half a century later, President Donald Trump seems to be eyeing a similar diplomatic maneuver, but in reverse: drawing Russia closer to the United States in order to give Washington an advantage in its geopolitical competition with Communist China.

1 month ago | theatlantic.com | Michael Schuman

The United States and China are finally going to talk. This weekend, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Switzerland to begin negotiations over the trade war that has strangled commerce between the two powers, ever since Donald Trump assumed the presidency and imposed additional tariffs of 145 percent on Chinese imports. Trump’s negotiating position will be the weaker one.

2 months ago | theatlantic.com | Michael Schuman

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump bragged that many foreign leaders were “kissing his ass” to avoid the steep tariffs he’d imposed on their countries. But China’s leader, Xi Jinping, was not one of them. “We are waiting for their call,” Trump said of China’s leadership in a social-media post. He might be waiting for a while.

2 months ago | theatlantic.com | Michael Schuman

In his quest to make America great, President Donald Trump is withdrawing the United States from global trade. American families, companies, and investors will pay a price for this, as many commentators have noted. But the repercussions don’t end there. The tariff regime is also destroying a pillar of American global power, and it will further isolate the country at a moment when others stand ready to fill the vacuum.