Trust and Mistrust Color Trump’s Two-Tone Trade Message on China

From the top of the U.S. government came criticism of another Chinese export that’s swamped the world economy — a pandemic. “We’re never going to forget what they did,” President Donald Trump said kicking off the Republican National Convention.

From another corner of Washington came a U.S. statement of trust in Beijing, a partner to a six-month-old trade deal aimed at lifting American fortunes. After a call with his Chinese counterpart Liu He, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said “both sides see progress and are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement.”