A New Sheriff in Town: Change Is on the Horizon for US-China Relations

Since his election, President-elect Donald Trump has made it clear he intends to revamp the U.S.-China relationship. His statements and choices suggest a much tougher, pro-America approach.

Trump says previous deals with China have been unfair to America.

"Look, we're being hurt very badly by China with devaluation, with taxing us heavy at the borders when we don't tax them," he said during one recent interview.

Many U.S. products, like DVD players, video games and motorcycles, are taxed at a rate of at least 30 percent. So, that makes American made products more expensive for Chinese consumers.

In return, Trump has threatened to slap 45 percent tariffs on Chinese products entering the United States.

However, some economic experts, like Gordon Chang, suggest Trump should re-examine his approach.

"China has been manipulating its currency, but the government is keeping it at an artificially high level, which hurts Chinese exporters. This is actually the subsidy to American exporters," Chang explained.

"China has been doing that now because of it's economic problems. They need to maintain the currency at the high level to discourage people from sending money offshore. So, Trump's (theory) on Chinese currency manipulation is just wrong," he said.

Trump is also concerned about China's military buildup in the South China Sea. The Beijing government insists that historically the area belongs to China.

The South China Sea dispute between the U.S. and China seems far from over. This island is also the source to some of the world's busiest shipping lanes, where billions of trade passes through every year.

Although an international court favored the Philippines in its territorial dispute with China, Beijing continued to build military stations on artificial islands in the South China Sea.

Trump warns that China's militarized takeover could escalate regional tensions.

Lastly, how does the president-elect get China to bend on these issues? Some experts believe he is planning to use Taiwan as leverage in negotiations.

Since 1979, the United States has embraced a One-China policy. That means the U.S. does not recognize Taiwan as a separate country.

Shortly after his election, Trump accepted a congratulatory phone call from Taiwanese President Tsai ying-wen. That created a firestorm in diplomatic circles and from Beijing. It signaled that Trump was prepared to overlook the approach of previous presidents.

 "Why should some other nation be able to say I can't take the call. I think it would actually have been very disrespectful to be honest with you not taking it," Trump said.

Chang says maintaining strong relations with Taiwan has long-term benefits for the United States

 "Taiwan is not only important, which echoes our ideals; it's also important to the geo-political matters. Therefore, defending Taiwan is defending the United States. It's important we do so," he said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has warned the president-elect that his views may damage trade and political relations between those two nations.

International Relations professor Shi Yinhong says Trump needs to be cautious.

"If Trump takes tough actions against China, China will finally hit back," Shi warned. "In that case, the economic and trade interests of both will suffer huge losses and the global economy and finances will suffer huge losses."

To smooth over the rough edges, Trump chose Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad to be the U.S. ambassador to China. Branstad has a long time relationship with Chinese President Xi Jin Ping.

His personal friendship with Xi dates back 30 years when Xi visited Iowa to work an agricultural deal.
 
Branstad's confirmation hearing is unlikely to occur before the end of February. Once Trump is sworn in as president, the review process for the new ambassador to China will last at least 42 days. In the meantime, Trump is expected to continue to reassess U.S.-China policy.