Allow me to submit: The EU signing its investment treaty with China has less to do with inherent EU fecklessness than with a complete absence of an alternative, compelling US vision for shared prosperity on more suitable terms.
Or as I've said many times (since well before Trump became President), "You can't beat something with nothing."
Unless the US shows attractive leadership - not just belligerence - then our erstwhile partners, in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere, are going to cut the best deal they can, even if it's suboptimal.
For Obama, the problem was passivity. His intentions (behind TPP and the so-called "pivot") were good but he was unwilling to put the political capital behind a real effort to lead, in contrast to China.
For Trump, it's the paradox of America First: "The first shall be last".
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1) There certainly was foreign interference in the 2016 election. It involved hacking crimes for which several people were charged.
2) Whether Trump's campaign had any involvement is unproven.
3) There is no evidence the interference involved altering actual vote counts.
4) Donald Trump was legitimately elected President, under the Constitution's rules, in 2016, though he did not have the political mandate that comes from winning the most votes nationwide.
5) He did not win, under those same rules, in 2020.
6) Many people were distraught at Trump's election in 2016 and some spoke loosely of an "illegitimate" victory.
7) No one of any stature made any effort to prevent Trump from taking office or exercising its powers.
1. I have an announcement - and a kind of invitation - to make for all of you who, whatever your background, who are interested in US-China relations.
2. Every year, for the past six years, I have taught a practical class in US-China negotiations at @ColumbiaSIPA.
3. 16-20 students, from the US, China, and elsewhere, were broken into 4 diverse teams and negotiated in class on a variety of "ripped from the headlines" topics I gave them.
The US reported +2,309 new coronavirus deaths today, bringing the total to 305,082. The 7-day moving average rose to 2,479 per day.
The US had +220,298 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total to over 16.5 million. The 7-day moving average rose to nearly 217,000 per day.