One of the standard criticisms of President Trump’s trade war with China is that China has the upper hand because it is not a democracy. Meanwhile, President Trump faces voters in 14 months, so therefore it was a mistake to challenge the status quo that allows China to steal intellectual property and pay for its economic and military growth via unending half-trillion-dollars-a-year trade surpluses with the United States. Foolish Trump! The problem with this view is that it greatly underestimates the vulnerability of Xi Jinping -- or any other Chinese Communist Party head.  The Politburo and its Central Committee can and have deposed previous leaders who lost their confidence. And with serious economic pain and the ongoing rebellion against China’s attempt to step-by-step exert absolute authority over Hong Kong, there is serious discontent in leadership circles of the Chinese Communist Party that may be constraining Xi and could end up rewarding Trump. DoD...(Read Full Post)