Why the Trump-Musk bust-up will only serve to deepen China's doubts about the US president
Earlier this month, a
dramatic feud erupted between US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk over a tax and spending bill, which culminated in the two hurling threats at each other.
Advertisement
Musk, who was Trump's biggest political donor and his self-proclaimed 'first buddy', said the American leader 'would have lost the elections' without him, and alleged without evidence that Trump was named in the sealed files of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump retaliated, saying he was 'very disappointed' by Musk's comments and threatening to terminate the Tesla chief executive's government subsidies and contracts. 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will any more,' he said.
While the
feud has since cooled and Musk has said that some of his posts 'went too far', the episode may have solidified the feeling in China that Trump is an erratic politician who goes back on his word.
What this means, according to diplomatic observers, is that China could remain guarded and cautious when entering negotiations with a 'mercurial Trump'. It could also add a layer of complications as Beijing considers a
summit between its leader and Trump
Advertisement
Sun Chenghao, a fellow at Tsinghua University's Centre for International Security and Strategy, said the fallout was not entirely unexpected but Trump's behaviour was in line with how the Chinese public and government saw his character.
'Many people believe that Trump is a transactional president who is accustomed to using tactics such as probing and pressure to determine the other party's bottom line and maximise his own interests,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
How much of a future does Elon Musk really have in US politics?
Convinced that his vision for the future of artificial intelligence was superior to that of OpenAI head Sam Altman and former Google chief executive Larry Page, Elon Musk cut ties with Page and parted ways with OpenAI, which he helped found in 2015. That same decisive belief in himself has famously spilled into politics. After spending nearly US$300 million in Donald Trump's 2024 campaign and working unofficially in the White House for months, Musk clashed publicly with the US president over a spending bill, which he called a ' disgusting abomination '. In the heat of the dispute, he floated the idea earlier this month of forming a third party to fix what he sees as a broken electoral system. 'Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?,' he asked his 230 million followers on X, the social media platform he owns. Around 80 per cent of respondents voted yes. Musk reacted by sharing a potential name: 'the American Party'. But does the tech titan really have a future in politics? In a 2023 biography by Walter Isaacson, Musk himself admitted that he had a 'habit of biting off more than I can chew'. His younger brother Kimbal, who sits on the boards of Tesla and SpaceX, both Musk companies, described his sibling as a 'drama magnet'. A leader in industries capable of determining a nation's future economic success, Musk in the past year seemed determined to inject drama into politics, both in the US and abroad.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
How to answer Xia's call for Hong Kong? Tap global ties and lure talent, experts say
Hong Kong should maintain its international connectivity and attract talent to speed up its economic transformation, analysts and figures from the commerce sector have said, as they hailed the enactment of the national security law for improving the business environment. Some political analysts also called on government officials to take bolder steps and adopt new thinking, taking advantage of the social stability and order brought by the security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020. Their suggestions came after the director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Xia Baolong, said the implementation of the law was a 'watershed' for the financial hub that brought order after chaos. But Xia, who made the remarks at a forum on Saturday marking the anniversary of the implementation of the national security law, also warned against complacency, calling for unity to support the government and urging the administration to come up with innovative governance concepts to enhance effectiveness. Political scientist Hung Wing-lok of the School of Governance and Policy Science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said: 'Hong Kong should seize the opportunity to attract more foreign talent to speed up its economic transformation. 'As tensions between China and the United States remain high, Hong Kong should continue to keep its international connectivity to maintain its status as a global financial hub.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Focus on how to improve Hong Kong, fencing star Vivian Kong tells youngsters
Focus on what you can do to improve Hong Kong and mainland China instead of their shortcomings, Olympic gold medallist Vivian Kong Man-wai has told the city's youngsters. The fencing star also urged young Hongkongers on Saturday to understand their identity, as she shared her experience of studying international relations at Stanford University in the US during a forum commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Beijing-imposed national security law. 'My biggest takeaway is that Americans do not understand China, but even worse, I realise I do not understand it either. I need to learn more,' the 31-year-old told a panel. 'As I represent Hong Kong, China, I should understand my identity and not disgrace anyone.' She said the city had the support of its motherland, citing her experience of being treated by a therapist from the national team when the Hong Kong team lacked resources. Kong added that the city's athletes enjoyed privileges when training on the mainland, such as being treated to the best quality meals usually reserved for top-tier national sportspeople. She also said Hong Kong athletes could bypass qualifiers to secure their spots in the National Games.
