The loud spat between US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro during a visit to Beijing this month is a dramatic illustration of a fundamental problem the US faces when negotiating with China — the Americans’ two principal goals are mutually contradictory.
Washington announced progress this past weekend towards each of its two big asks of Beijing: a better investment regime for foreign corporations in China and a lower trade deficit. But in the long run, these goals cannot both be achieved.
The fight between Mr Mnuchin and Mr Navarro over who got to be included in negotiations is a nice proxy for understanding the two clashing positions.
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