Carry on, Korea: Is China smart, or just lucky?
By David P. Goldman, Spengler| August 14, 2017 9:50 PM (UTC+8)
It’s time to buy Asian stocks. In fact, last Friday was the time to buy Asian stocks. Outside of Japan, a relief rally buoyed Korean, Chinese and Southeast Asian equities, with the bellwether Hang Seng China Enterprises Index jumping 1.27%. The markets are right and the pundits are wrong.
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For example: President Trump was scheduled to deliver a long-awaited policy address on trade with China on Aug. 4, drawing a line in the sand over theft of intellectual property, as well as Chinese subsidies of steel and other export goods. White House planners expected the speech to begin a prolonged wrangle with Beijing over China’s $350 billion trade surplus with the United States. The White House was considering a number of possible measures to reverse the migration of high-tech industries from the United States to China, out of national security as well as economic concerns.
The speech was cancelled on the night of Aug. 3. According to Reuters, the priority shifted to persuading China to vote with the United States at the UN Security Council on North Korea. Obligingly, Russia and China supported an American resolution to impose new trade sanctions on North Korea Aug. 6, and President Trump hailed the vote as an American diplomatic victory.
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http://www.atimes.com/carry-korea-china-smart-just-lucky/
