I disagree. 'Subtle' approaches with China regarding trade have been used for years and have been futile. I stated before I am not a supporter of Trump, but I certainly will give him his due when I believe he is in the right. Until his recent unsubtle approach to China, the Chinese have had all the power vs the US in recent history. Others have been too afraid to do anything via china...its like former president's walked on eggshells when dealing w/China lest they upset China and its big growth economy, and thereby hurt the US economy.
Trump has successfully, imo, grabbed some of that power back. And, imo, that is super important in long term dealings. The Chinese have to know that the US has some economic backbone and we won't back down simply b/c the markets may take a hit.
As for revolt crushing, China has become a respected world leader in economics, politics, science, etc. Before they were not. China has a lot more to lose should things go wrong. The Chinese people have had a chance to 'wet their beak' with some freedoms. It won't be easy or safe for Xi to try and take it back to square one.
And what about Canada and Mexico and the EU? Mexico, would benefit the most from any tradewar since the US would use them as much as possible to substitute for China's low cost production.
best.
