Stephen Yates: The CCP is waging another war, but the US has a better strategy! | #NewsTalk #FuYaoInterview
This episode invites Stephen Yates, former Asian advisor to US Vice President Dick Cheney and conservative political scholar, to discuss in depth the US-China rivalry behind the Trump-Xi meeting, Trump's China strategy, economic and trade as well as security agreements, arms sales to Taiwan, the fentanyl crisis, island chain defense strategies, and the future trajectory of the US hardline stance against China.
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Hello everyone, and welcome to Fuyao Guest Room. We are very pleased to have Mr. Stephen Yates with us today. Today is also the day of the Trump-Xi meeting, marking the first time in 11 years that Xi Jinping has come to the White House in the US to meet with President Trump. Many people feel that this Trump-Xi meeting actually has many notable aspects. For instance, when Xi Jinping arrived yesterday, President Trump personally went to Andrews Air Force Base to welcome him. Many people have certain views on this matter, and I know that you have your own systematic approach to some of Trump's practices, called the issue of understanding Trump. So could you introduce to us how you view this matter? President Trump always emphasizes building personal relationships with the people he tries to persuade. So sometimes during tough negotiations, he will say some tough words. But when he is really trying to win someone over or flatter someone, he will display a special style and establish a very friendly relationship. If you think about it, some friends feel that this is showing too much respect, that he is a bad person, and that it doesn't look very good. I think what he does here is actually quite interesting. During this visit, Xi Jinping was sitting in the car, and Trump welcomed him with a handshake at Andrews Air Force Base, and then he let Xi Jinping see that the Americans and the Chinese wanted to share some strong arguments with him.
How do you view so many protesters going out to protest against Xi Jinping, and what do you think their demands are? I must say personally that I didn't participate in the protests because I don't like being on the street, and sometimes protesting against Xi Jinping can be a bit crazy. I feel that these protests are all concentrated in certain places. People can express positive opinions, which I think is a good example, showing the Chinese people that we do this in the US, people have the freedom to express themselves, and they will still continue to meet with you.
That's right, you mentioned a point just now, which is that when President Trump wants to persuade a certain leader, he will definitely emphasize his friendly relationship with this person. Do you think that this time when he met with Xi Jinping and welcomed him so prominently, what was his purpose and the motivation behind it? What kind of vision does he want to express to Xi Jinping, and what kind of, for example, contracts or framework agreements does he want to reach with Xi? Our society is unbalanced and unjust, the US is not a very bad long-term actor, China has some points of courage, they do not use it against us, but we have greater courage. He wants to lead society to a more expansive and worse place, that is what he thinks, you can succeed, people can have critical reviews and meanings with different views. Another is national security, China has a lot of money, and has surrounded many countries, especially with maritime factions and maritime factional influence, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, and others, those are relevant to us, and they also have the strongest attacking power, so there are countries in crisis. Therefore, I believe there are ways to solve this, in the security of the US and China's methods, we can reach political methods so that people will not have other problems regarding a world war or other inter-state issues.
Regarding China's goals, this time it is Nixon's goal, so I am very skeptical that China is in that kind of maintenance mode. But this visit is an opportunity, so the President will want to do something to maintain his way of thinking. What kind of leverage does the Chinese side have to compete with the U.S. side, and does the U.S. side have corresponding preparations? China often says it will have balance, will have free passage, will have maintenance options, and will have free choices. So I hear that he will have free ideas, will have free ideas to help Iran. But the question is, before he provides that, now that it has been some years, why not at that time? On the exchange, I heard that he would want the $1.4 billion in free [aid] to Taiwan that Biden and Trump have been continuously carrying out, which has been prepared for many years. Of course, China keeps attacking Taiwan, China keeps pressuring Japan or the Philippines, and they demand that the U.S. not provide ammunition and stop investing military forces, so that China has a higher chance of winning. But the problem is, China has won twice, and the U.S. has won twice.
We know that this time when Trump and Xi meet, before Xi Jinping's visit, the CCP's Ambassador to the U.S. Xie Feng published an article in the People's Daily, and mentioned four points saying that the U.S. side cannot discuss these four points: the first is the Taiwan issue, the second is democracy and human rights, the third is the political system of the CCP's China, and the fourth is the development rights of the CCP's China. He also demanded that Washington cannot pressure the Chinese side on the grounds of national security and forced labor. Why do you think the Chinese side wants to draw these four red lines, and will President Trump comply? I think this is laughable, because a great and strong power does not need to tell others what they cannot ask and what they cannot say. Trump knows his problems in certain areas; he is very obvious in some areas. You don't want us to talk about freedom and liberty; if you come to the U.S., we are in the U.S., and you don't want us to talk about freedom. There are some advisors around Trump, some of whom I think are old school China experts, they are quite lazy and quite bad, and sometimes the President listens to these people, thinking that you cannot provoke China's leaders. If we don't want us to talk about freedom, and the interest in the topic goes way down. So on one hand, this is a laughable concession. I also hope your audience, perhaps Americans will remember this, because it says something very important: we think China is honest, strong, and normal; this is the image of the CCP.
We see that he mentioned this Taiwan issue. You just mentioned the issue of the $14 billion arms sale case. Why is there this delay? Is President Trump suspending or delaying it due to pressure from the Chinese side? How does the U.S. side view this arms sale case? In my experience, every Chinese person, even at the lower levels, when they bring up the Taiwan issue, they are always bringing up things about Taiwan. From Nixon to Trump to successive presidents, they have all tried their best to deal with China's sensitivities. So they ask, if we need these important discussions to come to the present, what will they do if a conflict happens today? Xi Jinping has been delaying, his internal party reforms are being postponed, and I think his attempt is correct. As long as you bring Americans from your own country, I will not hear about Taiwan. We now have American deaths; can you judge if you prepare for Taiwan, I will not discuss Chinese issues tomorrow.
Why has the fentanyl issue never been solved? We know that from President Biden to President Trump, they have been talking about fentanyl, which is really harming too many Americans, but the Chinese side promises every time, and every time they fail to do it. Dear viewers, you may know that this is personal, because my daughter was killed by fentanyl, I'm sorry. And more than a million Americans are experiencing this, the numbers are all in the thousands, mainly because of what we are doing outside. If the CCP were to enforce the rule of law in its enterprises, we could solve it.
We know that in areas like AI, commercial technology, and intellectual property, the Chinese Communist Party everywhere coerces the United States and steals U.S. intellectual property. It is America's biggest enemy, which is a bipartisan consensus. Now, facing such a huge enemy, President Trump actually places great importance on the security of the island chains. Yesterday we saw that President Trump has already signed an agreement at the United Nations regarding the defense of military positions in Greenland, granting the United States permanent military defense rights. This should be considered a victory for the United States, because since the Truman administration, the U.S. has actually wanted to secure such defense rights over Greenland, and now President Trump has achieved it. How do you view his determination to defend the first, second, and third island chains? Trump is making wise choices, we will have choices and power, and China doesn't care. As for these U.S. independences, I hope that on the frontlines and second lines of certain concerns and relationships, our deterrence is working hard. What is needed on the first line, maintaining it on the first line, I think is an important project. We will spend a lot of time and effort in 2027 on how to maintain democracy. What might be getting ready in China is a show of force, so hopefully we will be ready to get there, hopefully this visit will have some movement, I would say some visits, I think for some visits I think China will refrain from withholding wealth, and I think in business and friendly relations you must be responsible to test development, so hopefully this deal is a good part.
We know that Greenland also has many rare earth resources. Do you think the U.S. demand for rare earths will be resolved soon, or will it still be subject to this kind of suppression by the Chinese side? I think the significance of this is a kind of reaction from China; many reactions have happened, a kind of government-to-government interaction. But there is a very short way to do more within the United States. If Canada and Australia have many possibilities, but Canada, Australia, and the UK already have deep involvements in these things. If we invest tools, we will have many things, but it wouldn't be the core focus. But the problem is, from 2026 to 2027, 2028, or whenever, that core focus will be resolved. So China's cards are the focus of those projects because of our approach. But it is not to that extent. It will definitely be to some degree. But in American news, in news relations, and in other countries within the news, they have wealthy battles. If we improve these battles from these battles, that is more important, we have choices.
Do you think there is a popular saying among the public that Xi Jinping and the United States have reached certain agreements, including regarding these threats to the U.S., where they hope to wait until the midterm elections, or until President Trump leaves office in 2028, dragging it out until the president steps down so he can start launching his aggression again, such as aggression against U.S. national security, infiltration into the U.S., and so on, so he is just buying time—how do you view this kind of statement? Well there's a lot of talk about what could happen in our midterm elections. When he was judged several times, at that time they were judged, so we have been through this before. At that time, Trump through his judgment in China, but also recommending very difficult things, under China's circumstances, there will also be Taiwan's mobile phones under China's circumstances. maybe he will remember thank you China for undermining my re-election, and maybe China will be surprised that even if the Democrats have an advantage in the midterm... President Trump might actually be tougher for them to deal with after the midterm election than he has been during this period where he's rolled out the red carpet, he's gone to China and he's made these big offers of trying to have strategic collaboration. If history is a guide, perhaps after the midterm elections, it won't be a good thing for those who want to take advantage of President Trump.
What do you think the relationship between the two sides will be like in this Trump-Xi meeting? Will US-China relations get better? Or will they remain very cold? I used to talk about East-West relations, China relations, China relations roughly, but you can approach their new ways, you can change a kind of balance. I hope he will continue, and continue to continue, I hope he will keep our most advanced technologies, I hope he won't make a handshake deal, which is just one thing. We ensure some stillness for our markets, we hope China can understand, we know they can use the Russian war machine and the Iranian war machine, and we also like the communists, but they need the communists.
Yes, our viewing audience includes Chinese compatriots from mainland China, as well as overseas Chinese. Is there anything you would like to say to them? First of all, I would say I am very grateful for their kindness and warmth, and they have also supported me over the years. They aren't listening to me speak Chinese today; my Chinese right now is quite broken, I should probably practice a bit, it might be a little rough. To the audience, dear viewers, thank you very much for your long-standing friendship with me, thank you. I am very grateful to them, very grateful to them, and I believe they are facing the problems and historical American values, so I hope they, their friends, and their families succeed together, and we can help America's world reach American freedom and liberty, and we enjoy more of them enjoying their friends and family under different circumstances. So I hope for change in China, I hope that one day there is freedom in China, because I love Chinese culture, I just don't like Chinese control.
Mr. Stephen Yates, thank you for accepting our interview. Thank you, my pleasure. Okay.