There are reports from sources in Washington that the CCP has identified the non-officials having the ear of President Trump and has sought to lure them through beneficial investments and other help.
New Delhi: After a long spell of frustration at the numerous pinpricks that have been suffered as a consequence of tough measures by the Trump administration against China, CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping is sensing an opportunity in the public and vitriolic feud between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, formerly his closest aide. The feud was triggered by an all-out attack by Musk on the “Big Beautiful (Spending) Bill” now awaiting approval in the US Senate. If the bill gets passed, as seems likely, it would blow to smithereens many of the numerous budget cuts recommended by DOGE. Were the DOGE cuts to pass the US House and Senate, the measure would create a firestorm of protest even within Republican voters, as several would lose entitlements that some have been enjoying for decades. It is probable that several members of the US Congress may have warned President Trump, getting him to backtrack and more, even recommending an end to the Budget deficit enjoined by existing law. Trump has submitted a record number of budget allocations, a figure not matched earlier by any previous President of the US. He has spoken of a trillion dollar rebate to billionaires, a move which would be seen as benefiting a small number of taxpayers (including himself) at the cost of less privileged tax paying citizens. In Tesla, Musk reports only to himself, whereas the US President has to report to tens of millions of voters. Small wonder that he did an about turn on the DOGE cuts, followed by the exit of Musk from the White House as well as from the US Government subsequently. While Trump claims to “like President Xi a lot”, the sentiment is not reciprocated on Xi’s side. The CCP favours a free hand to itself by other countries separating trade from other issues, something that countries such as India and still more the US, which are facing huge trade deficits with China, have after a long spell of trade deficits with China declined to do.
Musk made a huge investment in China when several other US companies were doing the same. Given the need for decoupling production from China as a consequence of the increasing divergence between the security interests of the US and China, several companies have found it increasingly difficult to switch from China to another production base. Some in Tesla believe that the only route open to the company to get its assets disposed of and repatriated back to the US is to have good relations with China. Such views have given rise to a widespread perception that Musk is soft on China, a proposition that is very unlikely to be true of the billionaire, although it may be true about some others working in Tesla. At the same time, overall, the Trump administration has taken a hardline view on China, and given the exceptional quality of his security staff, only to be expected of the Champion of MAGA, President Trump. Both China and the US are engaged in a zero-sum situation where trade is concerned. One side can gain only at the expense of another, and as a consequence, one or the other side will prevail where commerce is concerned. Trump and the team chosen by him, including Vice-President Vance, understand this well, although some of Trump’s public views of Xi may give an opposite impression to those unfamiliar with Trump’s flowery language about Xi.
Elon Musk has even more followers on social media than President Trump, but contrary to widespread perception, this does not translate into an equal power distribution between the two. The US Presidency has awesome power even well within the ambit of the Constitution, and the way share values of Tesla have been plummeting since the feud between the two began in full public view indicates that the shareholding public is fully cognizant of the power differential between the two. Musk has become a darling of the Democrats by calling for the impeachment and dismissal of President Trump. However, in the process he has lost the support of several Republicans, who are in power for almost four years from now. Members of the Trump team would be angered by the Musk pyrotechnics. Given the pugilistic temperament of Trump, a reconciliation seems improbable unless Musk repents in public. And given his temperament, a contrite Musk is exceptionally rare.
Unlike in the case of Musk, CCP General Secretary Xi has no ace in his deck where Trump is concerned. In the case of India, the choice is clear. It is Trump rather than Musk, despite his unfortunate comments made during the four days of the present phase of Operation Sindoor. It bears mentioning that Vice-President Vance, unlike his boss, has not made any nasty comments on India. Usha and he have established a close bond with each other, and with India. President Trump needs to listen more to the Vice-President than to some of the whisperers in his ear. There are reports from sources in Washington that the CCP has identified those non-officials having the ear of President Trump, and has sought to lure them through beneficial investments and other help. Such reports are disturbing in the context of Trump’s getting distant with several allies and partners of the US, although the two may be coincidental. As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pointed out in the Shangri La Dialogue at Singapore, the US and China are likely to have a kinetic showdown over Taiwan by 2027. President Trump would be well advised to strengthen alliances and partnerships against such a risk, rather than go on an opposite direction.