U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators are meeting in Beijing this week to begin high-stake talks to avert a bigger trade war before a March 2 deadline announced by President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping after a recent meeting in Argentina. The task of redefining the U.S.-China trade relationship in a way that benefits the U.S. rests largely with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, a longtime China hawk and Trump's chief U.S. trade negotiator.
Before he does that, "Lighthizer will need to keep a mercurial president from wavering in the face of queasy financial markets, which have suffered their steepest annual decline since 2008," The New York Times reports. "Trump is increasingly eager to reach a deal that will help calm the markets, which he views as a political electrocardiogram of his presidency." On Saturday, after speaking to Xi on the phone, Trump cheered investors by tweeting that the "deal is moving along very well."
Specifically, Lighthizer views his role as "preventing the president from being talked into accepting 'empty promises' like temporary increases in soybean or beef purchases," and he has a tool at his disposal, the Times reports:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
When Mr. Lighthizer senses that anyone — even Mr. Trump — might be going a little soft on China, he opens a paper-clipped manila folder he totes around and brandishes a single-page, easy-reading chart that lists decades of failed trade negotiations with Beijing, according to administration officials. [The New York Times]
Lighthizer also has Florida real estate on his side, the Times reports: "He has joked to colleagues that he has more influence with Mr. Trump during winter months because he is able to hitch a ride on Air Force One during the president's flights down to Mar-a-Lago, which is several miles from Mr. Lighthizer's own $2.3 million waterfront condo in Palm Beach." You can read more at The New York Times.
-
Political cartoons for December 6Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include a pardon for Hernandez, word of the year, and more
-
Pakistan: Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’ takes chargeIn the Spotlight Asim Munir’s control over all three branches of Pakistan’s military gives him ‘sweeping powers’ – and almost unlimited freedom to use them
-
Codeword: December 6, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
What a rising gold price says about the global economyThe Explainer Institutions, central banks and speculators drive record surge amid ‘loss of trust’ in bond markets and US dollar
-
Shein in Paris: has the fashion capital surrendered its soul?Talking Point Despite France’s ‘virtuous rhetoric’, the nation is ‘renting out its soul to Chinese algorithms’
-
US mints final penny after 232-year runSpeed Read Production of the one-cent coin has ended
-
Will latest Russian sanctions finally break Putin’s resolve?Today's Big Question New restrictions have been described as a ‘punch to the gut of Moscow’s war economy’
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
China’s rare earth controlsThe Explainer Beijing has shocked Washington with export restrictions on minerals used in most electronics
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
The struggles of Aston Martin: burning cash not rubberIn the Spotlight The car manufacturer, famous for its association with the James Bond franchise, is ‘running out of road’
