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Bob Davis

@bobdavis187.bsky.social
361 followers 251 following 108 posts

Author of "Broken Engagement," interviews with top officials on U.S. China policy, and "Superpower Showdown" with @Lingling_Wei, the definitive account of Trump's trade war. bobdavisreports.com

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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Trump I USTR general counsel Stephen Vaughn explains Trump ll. Trump's rhetoric "and the way he manages the relationship, is because he wants to leave open the door for possible change on the other side. It’s like Reagan" dealing with Gorbachev. www.thewirechina.com/2026/09/20/s...
thewirechina.com
Stephen Vaughn on the U.S.-China Disconnect - The Wire China
The former Trump official argues that the president’s approach to China is working, and explains why time is on the American side as the U.S. and China continue to move apart.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
In time for the Xi-Trump summit, US and China are working out details of a "Board of Trade" to manage trade tensions. The two sides would start by picking each picking $30 bilion or $40 billion of imports that could see tariff cuts in a "30-for-30" deal. www.thewirechina.com/2026/05/07/t...
thewirechina.com
Trump’s Board of Trade Move Signals the U.S. has Given Up on Changing China - The Wire China
The U.S. president is set to agree on a new board of trade framework for U.S.-China commerce at his summit with Xi Jinping, but the details could prove tricky.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Are there any free traders any more in DC? Come join us at the Asia Society for a timely discussion of "managed trade," which is bound to be a big part of the Trump-Xi Jinping summit. May 12 at 9 am online. asiasociety.org/policy-insti...
asiasociety.org
Managed Trade 2.0: Lessons From Japan for the New U.S.-China Board of Trade
Please join the Asia Society Policy Institute for a virtual panel discussion with leading experts on managed trade.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
The UnlikelThe Unlikely Recovery of America’s China-Shocked Towns. Trump's twin projects of tariffs and immigration crackdowns don't get the credit. If anything, they threaten the recovery. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Unlikely Recovery of America’s China-Shocked Towns
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Trumpian chaos on trade conceals a wider bipartisan shift aimed at China, which dates back to the late Obama administration. Now it's coalitions of the willing-- which sometimes work out as poorly as Bush's invasion of Iraq. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/06/t...
foreignpolicy.com
Free Trade Is Dead in Washington
Trumpian chaos conceals a wider bipartisan shift aimed at China.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Jake Sullivan on China and Trump. He "is very sure footed, very confident, very assertive when it comes to countries he perceives as weaker. He is very unsure footed, very tentative and very willing to make concessions to to leaders he thinks are strong." www.thewirechina.com/2026/03/01/j...
thewirechina.com
Jake Sullivan on Keeping Ahead of China - The Wire China
Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan sets out what he was trying to achieve in dealing with Beijing, where he thinks Trump 2.0 has taken a wrong turn on China.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
China hawk David Feith, a Trump 1.0 alum: "Trump isn't pushing "his team to generate broad ideas to compete and change the terms of our relationship with China across the economic, trade, technology, diplomatic, military... domains the way we did," in Trump 1.0 www.thewirechina.com/2026/01/25/d...
thewirechina.com
David Feith on Trump 1.0 vs Trump 2.0 and China - The Wire China
The former official in both of the president’s terms discusses why Trump has become less hawkish on China, and his sudden departure from the administration last year.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Biden NEC chief and ex Fed vice chair Lael Brainard say tariff impact coming. Tariffs "They are just beginning to work their way through the pricing system." In Trump 1.0 "it took six to nine months for [China] tariffs to push prices up." www.thewirechina.com/2025/10/05/l...
thewirechina.com
Lael Brainard on Keeping the Dollar Dominant - The Wire China
The economic policy maker says the Trump administration's actions could threaten the greenback's role, and discusses the big bet the U.S. made in welcoming China into the WTO.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
I do a deep dive into the birth and death of engagement with China -- and (weirdly) the possible revival under Trump 2.0. It's the heart of my review of China scholar David Shambaugh's "Breaking the Engagement." chinabooksreview.com/2025/09/25/e...
chinabooksreview.com
What Happened to "Engagement" with China? | China Books Review
Since 1972, the U.S. has hoped that engaging with China would benefit both nations. That dream has burst. A new book performs an autopsy on engagement policy — but is it really dead?
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
China is heading for deflation. Somehow it thinks a political campaign focusing on something called “involution” will help stave off disaster. My latest. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The New Buzzword That’s Scaring China
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Two National Guardsmem with M16s at the Washington DC DuPont Circle metro entrance. A local is politely engaging with them and criticizing the deployment. Most importantly, Kristy Kreme at the entrance is safe.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
China reports that its GDP is growing at about 5%. Nope, says China researcher Rhodium Group. Actual GDP growth is about half that, at 2.8%. rhg.com/research/the...
rhg.com
The Strategic Logic of China’s Economic Data
Beijing knows it has a credibility problem Ten years ago this week, Rhodium Group published a landmark study of China’s economic data, Broken Abacus, discussing the rapid evolution of China’s statisti...
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Former Trump NEC Director Larry Kudlow: I always thought President Trump, was a little too personalized. A little too, ‘I can charm you into coming around to my point of view.’ There’s a place for that. But it’s just a place." www.thewirechina.com/2025/08/24/l...
thewirechina.com
Larry Kudlow on Trump, Xi, Putin and the future of global trade - The Wire China
The former National Economic Council head talks about whether a deal with China is in the cards during Trump's second term, and being a free trader as the U.S. turns to protectionism.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Yellen as Fed Chair on China: in 2016, investors thought there was a "Shanghai Protocol" to keep US rates low if China didn't devalue. "No. We did meet, and we understood the pressures that they were under... That doesn’t require a secret handshake agreement." www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
thewirechina.com
Janet Yellen on the Challenges of Dealing With China, Trump — and Biden - The Wire China
The former Treasury Secretary and Fed chair discusses why tariffs won't work, her efforts to rebuild relations with China under Biden and her issues working within the administration.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Yellen as Treasury Secretary on China: "Making changes [to boost consumption] would also ultimately make China less export-dependent... But in the visits that I had during the time that I was at Treasury, it became clear Xi doesn’t want to do that." www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
thewirechina.com
Janet Yellen on the Challenges of Dealing With China, Trump — and Biden - The Wire China
The former Treasury Secretary and Fed chair discusses why tariffs won't work, her efforts to rebuild relations with China under Biden and her issues working within the administration.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Janet Yellen on Biden WH decision-making and China. "In the economic area, he had very few meetings where the president and senior officials, including cabinet members, give their views and the president asks questions.There were virtually no meetings like that." www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
thewirechina.com
Janet Yellen on the Challenges of Dealing With China, Trump — and Biden - The Wire China
The former Treasury Secretary and Fed chair discusses why tariffs won't work, her efforts to rebuild relations with China under Biden and her issues working within the administration.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Janet Yellen on why should doesn't talk to Scott Bessent:"He has succeeded in undoing everything that was a priority of mine at Treasury." Bessent reply: "I couldn’t even tell you what Secretary Yellen’s China policy was, aside from consuming beer and mushrooms." www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
thewirechina.com
Janet Yellen on the Challenges of Dealing With China, Trump — and Biden - The Wire China
The former Treasury Secretary and Fed chair discusses why tariffs won't work, her efforts to rebuild relations with China under Biden and her issues working within the administration.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
New York Times profiles @brunodebbie as he examined the enslavers in her family and worked with Eleanor Mire, whose family was one of the enslaved. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/u...
nytimes.com
She Confronted a History of Enslavers in Her Family. Here’s What Happened.
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Mike Chen @mikechenwriter.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
I have always wondered why a certain percentage of leftists only use Apple tech yet completely ignore the multiple human rights abuses, police states, and genocidal conditions created by China. Other major tech companies diversified in recent years from China but Apple refused.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
How China Captured Apple - A giant firm and a superpower have become deeply entangled. My review of a fine new book about how China and Apple truly operate. foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/a...
foreignpolicy.com
How China Captured Apple
A giant firm and a superpower have become deeply entangled.
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New York Review Books @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
This is a fascinating story. We're reissuing The Ten Thousand Leaves: Poems from the Man'yōshū, the oldest collection of Japanese poems, translated by Ian Hideo Levy when he was 32 (and finalist of the National Book Award for Translation in 1982), in July.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
The story of how Ian Levy, a suburban teenager from the D.C. area, transformed into Levy Hideo, a celebrated Tokyo novelist who lives and writes in Japanese. Even in the long history of the Jewish diaspora, Hideo's tale stands out. momentmag.com/searching-fo...
momentmag.com
Searching for Levy Hideo
Levy Hideo, born Ian Hideo Levy, left the United States and gave birth to a genre in Japan known as “border-crossing” literature.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
The story of how Ian Levy, a suburban teenager from the D.C. area, transformed into Levy Hideo, a celebrated Tokyo novelist who lives and writes in Japanese. Even in the long history of the Jewish diaspora, Hideo's tale stands out. momentmag.com/searching-fo...
momentmag.com
Searching for Levy Hideo
Levy Hideo, born Ian Hideo Levy, left the United States and gave birth to a genre in Japan known as “border-crossing” literature.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
As if US-China relations weren't already complicated, China's need to save face is crucial, and Trump's too. “To really understand what’s going to happen, you need a psychologist—not a policy analyst,” said CFR's Matthew Goodman. foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/09/c...
foreignpolicy.com
Both Xi and Trump Want the Other to Call Them First
A conflict over face is tangling up the trade war’s resolution.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Hmm, so Chinese exports to the US fell by 21% because of Trump tariffs and rose 21% to SE Asia. To fill out the story, we will soon learn exports from SE Asia rose a lot too. Transshipment and investment in SE Asia is a big way China avoids Trump tariffs. www.wsj.com/economy/trad...
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
Great reporting on China's book scene by @rachel_cheung1. So much political and commercial pressure that older, safer books get republished rather than newer ones which could mean trouble for independent publishers. www.thewirechina.com/2025/05/04/a...
thewirechina.com
“A Vicious Cycle” - The Wire China
Squeezed by commercial and political pressures, China’s book publishers face an existential crisis.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Around minute 48, former Trump U.S. Trade Rep. Lighthizer says that is a “reasonable possibility” a lower federal court will overturn Trump tariffs based on IEEPA, which requires an “emergency “ to act.Sup Ct might uphold the admin, he says. youtube.com/live/qLpUSMIN_… via @YouTube
youtube.com
YouTube
Share your videos with friends, family, and the world
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Ex Trump NSC China chief Matt Turpin: "One of the reasons why I’ve advocated that we think of this as a cold war is that you understand what you’re trying to do is win a competition and avoid direct military conflict." www.thewirechina.com/2025/04/13/m...
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
A really uswful explainer about the crazy world of Trump tariffs www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
How Much Are Tariffs on Chinese Goods? It’s Trickier Than You Think.
The tariff rate on Chinese imports can be as high as 245% or zero, depending on the type of product that is being imported.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
A step-by-step guide to Donald Trump’s destruction of U.S. foreign policy. foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/07/t...
foreignpolicy.com
How to Ruin a Country
A step-by-step guide to Donald Trump’s destruction of U.S. foreign policy.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
China expert Elizabeth Economy: Trump’s latest tariffs “may be the final nail in the coffin of US global leadership. Our only hope is that Xi scores enough own goals to stave off a permanent shift in the world’s political and economic center of gravity.” www.thewirechina.com/2025/04/06/e...
thewirechina.com
Elizabeth Economy on What the U.S. Should Want from China - The Wire China
The former Biden administration advisor on what she tried to achieve in government and what Trump is getting right and wrong about China.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
I argue that Trump’s tariffs are unsustainable and sketch out the many ways he could back off to ease the (self-inflicted) pain. Number 1 — issue plenty of exemptions. Number 2–Fire someone. (Probably Lutnick.) Plus other moves. foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/04/t...
foreignpolicy.com
Will Trump Back Down From a Global Trade War?
The U.S. president still has plenty of outs from his extreme tariffs.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Trump’s tariff “plan” is imposed by a so-called emergency and doesn’t require Congress. In other words, he is ruling by emergency decree, the hallmark of authoritarian newbies. Courts could rule against him but they often defer to “national security.”
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Another weird outcome from Tariff Armageddon is the remaining incentive for Chinese firms to ship to the U.S. via Mexico and Vietnam. (And Trump is supposedly a China hawk .) China tariffs are at least 54% and as much as 79% on some items — much higher than on other countries.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
I bet that that levies in tariff Armegeddon days are so severe that they aren’t sustainable. (And that’s not even counting retaliatory tariffs.) A wave of inflation, slower growth, falling markets and corporate freakouts are bound to affect Trump.
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Andrew Peaple @andypeaps.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Great new episode of the Chinese Whispers podcast in which @bobdavis187.bsky.social talks to the @thespectator1828.bsky.social's Cindy Yu about his new ebook Broken Engagement www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/from...
spectator.co.uk
From Chimerica to Cold War II: how US-China relations soured
It’s easy to forget that, as recently as the start of this century, the US was China’s biggest ally. Why have relations cooled quite so fast?
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Interview with top Biden China aide Rush Doshi: "The irony is that President Trump deserves some credit for creating the bipartisan approach on China but then has never fully embraced it. I think that irony is at the heart of the second Trump term." www.thewirechina.com/2025/03/23/r...
thewirechina.com
Rush Doshi on Trump, Taiwan, Tariffs and Biden’s Legacy on China - The Wire China
A top official on China under President Biden talks about trying to achieve a ‘steady state’ in U.S.-China relations and whether Washington can prise Moscow and Beijing apart.
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Andrew Peaple @andypeaps.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
"Trump deserves some credit for creating the bipartisan approach on China but then has never fully embraced it...That irony is at the heart of the second Trump term." @rushdoshi.bsky.social speaks to @bobdavis187.bsky.social for @thewirechina.bsky.social www.thewirechina.com/2025/03/23/r...
thewirechina.com
Rush Doshi on Trump, Taiwan, Tariffs and Biden’s Legacy on China - The Wire China
A top official on China under President Biden talks about trying to achieve a ‘steady state’ in U.S.-China relations and whether Washington can prise Moscow and Beijing apart.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Intel’s surprising savior has deep China roots. It'a glass half-empty, half-full situation. His China contacts couil help commercially but hurt politically. @eliotcxchen @economicsnoah www.thewirechina.com/2025/03/21/i...
thewirechina.com
Intel's Surprising Savior - The Wire China
Lip-Bu Tan, the new leader of America’s chip champion Intel, is a prolific and longtime investor in China’s semiconductor industry.
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Thea Mei Lee @theameilee.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Check out new e-book by @bobdavis187 on China policy across six administrations, including an interview with me outlining the evolution of China policy with respect to labor rights. Bob's thoughtful and probing questions create a complex and engaging read.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
Trump team on the prospects for a recession are starting to sound like Treasury Secretary Mellon during the Depression: “Purge the rottenness out of the system. High costs of living and high living will come down. ... enterprising people will pick up the wrecks.”
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
My new book, "Broken Engagement," with interviews of top China policy makers is like a conversation across administrations about engaging with China, competing with China and, more recently, defending against China. www.amazon.com/Broken-Engag...
amazon.com
Broken Engagement: Interviews with those who have made — and remade — the U.S.’s policy towards China
Broken Engagement: Interviews with those who have made — and remade — the U.S.’s policy towards China - Kindle edition by Davis, Bob, Barboza, David. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Broken Engagement: Interviews with those who have made — and remade — the U.S.’s policy towards China.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Among the surprises in the interviews i did was the contention by ex-Defense Secretary Robert Gates that maybe Xi pushed his anti-corruption drive so hard because he feared engagement was working and party discipline was flagging. www.thewirechina.com/2025/03/14/t...
thewirechina.com
'The Day Engagement Died' - The Wire China
Bob Davis reflects on his new ebook, Broken Engagement, the five year anniversary of the ‘China virus’, and what to expect from Trump 2.0.
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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
Back in 1990s I wrote whole book plus very long Atlantic cover story ( www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc... ), advancing Adam Smith-like point that short-term "consumer welfare" is not always best guide to long-term nat'l-economic strategy. But to hear this from Trump guys, after inflation panic..
theatlantic.com
How the World Works
Americans persist in thinking that Adam Smith's rules for free trade are the only legitimate ones. But today's fastest-growing economies are using a very different set of rules. Once, we knew them&mda...
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Andrew Peaple @andypeaps.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Exciting news for @thewirechina.bsky.social: our first ebook! 'Broken Engagement' by former WSJ senior editor @bobdavis187.bsky.social. It's a collection of terrific interviews with the US policy makers who have shaped China policy under 6 presidents. Enjoy! www.amazon.com/Broken-Engag...
amazon.com
Broken Engagement: Interviews with those who have made — and remade — the U.S.’s policy towards China
Broken Engagement: Interviews with those who have made — and remade — the U.S.’s policy towards China - Kindle edition by Davis, Bob, Barboza, David. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Broken Engagement: Interviews with those who have made — and remade — the U.S.’s policy towards China.
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Jelani Cobb @jelaniya.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
A few words on journalism, risk and what I actually said.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
gotta say, it's enjoyable watching Trump give tsuris to the right-wing Israeli government. Now we'll see if the Trump envoys are naive when it comes to Hamas (and Netanyahu). www.wsj.com/world/middle... via @WSJ
wsj.com
Trump Envoy Further Inflames Israel’s Concerns About Direct Talks With Hamas
Adam Boehler suggested Hamas was willing to lay down its arms in exchange for a truce, in comments that frustrated some Israeli officials already concerned by his direct talks with the group.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
China worries the US has the upper hand in a trade war. China’s economy is weak and export-dependent. But Trump is picking fights with allies. Is that cleverly letting China stew or a morass masquerading as strategy? @Lingling_Wei @learyreports www.wsj.com/world/china/...
wsj.com
China Is Secretly Worried Trump Will Win on Trade
In seeking accord with U.S., Beijing wants to avoid becoming isolated like the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
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Bob Davis @bobdavis187.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
A trade war could stoke stagflation, warns @NickTimiraos. Also remember tariffs aren’t always inflationary. The 1930s, a period of global high tariffs, was marked by deflation. Tariffs helped prolong the Depression. www.wsj.com/economy/trad...
wsj.com
The Two-Headed Monster Stalking the Economy Has a Name: Stagflation
Tariffs have stoked fears of a dreary combination of weak growth and inflation.
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Bornabrit1 @lindarothwell.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Look what's happening at the French Embassy in Washington DC.
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