Originally published on 11 Apr 2025.
Donald Trump just broke a lot of China—but not the one he was actually targeting. The level of trust and good-will the US threw over board in the last week will hunt Washington for years to come, even if the political leadership should get back on track and try to be a more reliable partner again. If the goal of the Trump administration was ever to send a big middle finger to the entire world, then this did the trick, and the World has certainly seen it clearly. This begs the question, what's next? The sad answer: more uncertainty. Erratic foreign policy making is not anymore a "glitch" in the US system, it has become part and parcel of the system.
