華郵：中國和阿拉伯引誘川普成為他們的愛人

華郵：中國和阿拉伯引誘川普成為他們的愛人

http://wapo.st/2r8s6M4?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.6b3ca40d117c

China and Saudi Arabia have seduced Trump into being their sweetheart

〈谷歌翻譯〉

中國和沙特阿拉伯誘使特朗普成為他們的愛人

由傑克遜·迪爾Jackson Diehl副編輯頁編輯6月11日下午7:50

令人失望但令人驚訝的是，在特朗普政府的第五個月，德國，墨西哥和南韓是美國對外關係的大失敗者之一。他們可能在美國最親密的盟友之間，但是特朗普總統在他的運動中已經足夠清楚了，他認為他們容忍在美國背後狙擊的自由人。

令人驚訝的是，迄今為止的大贏家 - 不是俄羅斯，也不是以色列 - 但是兩個國家特朗普花了數十年的貶低：中國和沙特阿拉伯。到目前為止，亞洲不斷上升的超級大國和中東最具反動性的專制已經得到了白宮的一切希望，包括總統無條件的公眾支持。

中國，特朗普長期以來作為一名貿易騙子毆打，並表示將在第一天的任職期間受到製裁，沒有看到這樣的譴責。相反，特朗普讚揚習近平總統作為與他在建立合作關係方面取得了“巨大進步”的人。特朗普不僅公開承諾不會將西安政府列為貨幣操縱者，而且他主要還是遏制五角大樓挑戰北京積極的運動，鞏固對南中國海的控制。

自1987年以來，沙特阿拉伯一直是特朗普的目標，當時他拿出了全面的報紙廣告，指責“利用美國”，並要求“為華盛頓提供保護”。然而，自從上個月訪華以來，新總統已經完全落後於執政家庭，感到有權力對在中東最大的美國軍事基地之家卡塔爾境內發生外交和軍事抵制。

可以說，這些人字拖鞋有一些理性依據。特朗普說，向北京發出的打擊是為了幫助北韓積累核武。與沙特阿拉伯的對話可以作為更大規模的運動的一部分，以回歸伊朗在中東的侵略 - 也許有助於以色列與巴勒斯坦人和平。

然而，北約對於朝鮮或沙特阿拉伯對伊朗的幫助，可以毫不含糊地接受他們的政權，也可以向他們提出抨擊，以追求威脅到美國重要的戰略利益的議程。以前的美國總統試圖取得平衡。特朗普的獨特之處在於他對外國政府的黑白方式：不管他愛他們，還是他都不喜歡。

或者也許區別是總統是否認為他被有關政權置於足夠高的地位。那些看起來非常重要，或者是喜歡墨西哥和德國的情感的人，都是出來的;那些準備在他們的首都舉行肖像的肖像，並用劍舞如沙特阿拉伯來慶祝他的到來。

習近平的中國還不是很流行。但是，習近平願意在馬拉薩拉的度假勝地向特朗普付錢。自從就職以來，他的政府已經授予特朗普數十個有價值的商標，以及在首腦會議當天向伊万卡·特朗普（Ivanka Trump）的時尚業務提供的一切。

中國和沙特阿拉伯將外交重點放在特朗普家族。他們都被當作總理侄子賈里德·庫什納（Jared Kushner）的主要渠道，他對外交事務的明顯天真與他的野心一樣偉大。正如我的同事Josh Rogin所報導的，基辛格在三一峰會之前在庫什納和北京之間開了一個迴路，一個美國政府的中國手被排除在外。

類似的渠道將庫什納與沙特阿拉伯王儲穆罕默德·本·薩爾曼（Muhammed bin Salman）聯繫在一起，他是由他年邁的父親領導的政權中的傑出人物。在特朗普訪問利雅得之前，兩人勾畫出了一個“阿拉伯北約”的雄心勃勃的計劃 - 至今尚未實現的計劃 - 這個“阿拉伯北約”計劃在美國的武器銷售上漲了數百億美元，將反對伊朗。

這些甜心交易的緊密程度一直是總統自己的西恩和薩勒曼的誘惑，而特朗普自己的說法，這一切都太簡單了。據總統說，在習近平關於朝鮮的10分鐘的演講中，他表示說“我意識到這不是那麼容易”中國的行為。當他談到在利雅得制止恐怖主義時，特朗普上個星期悄悄聲稱，沙特阿拉伯“指向卡塔爾”，他們一直在與其他問題進行鬥爭。總統吞了他們的線。

毫無疑問，中國和沙特阿拉伯是足夠聰明的，以了解他們目前的運氣可能不會持續。當中國不能遏制北韓，或者沙特不能交付巴勒斯坦人作為中東和平協議時，特朗普可能會突然轉向他們。不過現在呢，他對這位總統說了一個令人尷尬和有點嚇人的事實呢，就外交而言，他毫無歷史感，容易受到愚昧和極度愚昧。

http://wapo.st/2r8s6M4?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.6b3ca40d117c

China and Saudi Arabia have seduced Trump into being their sweetheart

By Jackson Diehl Deputy Editorial Page Editor June 11 at 7:50 PM

It’s disappointing but not surprising that in the fifth month of the Trump administration, Germany, Mexico and South Korea are among the big losers in U.S. foreign relations. They may be among America’s closest allies, but President Trump made it clear enough during his campaign that he considers them conniving freeloaders who snicker at the United States behind its back.

What’s surprising is the big winners so far — not Russia, nor Israel — but two countries Trump has spent decades disparaging: China and Saudi Arabia. So far, Asia’s rising superpower and the Middle East’s most reactionary autocracy have gotten everything they’ve wanted from the White House, including unconditional public support from the president.

China, which Trump long assailed as a trade cheater and said would be sanctioned on his first day in office, has seen no such censure. Instead, Trump has lauded President Xi Jinping as someone with whom he has made “tremendous progress” in forging a cooperative relationship. Not only has Trump publicly promised not to label Xi’s government a currency manipulator, but he has mostly restrained the Pentagon from challenging Beijing’s aggressive campaign to consolidate control over the South China Sea.

Saudi Arabia has been a Trump target since 1987, when he took out full-page newspaper ads accusing it of “taking advantage of the United States” and demanding that it “pay for the protection” Washington provides. Yet since visiting the kingdom last month, the new president has swung so fully behind its ruling family that it felt empowered to launch a diplomatic and military boycott against neighboring Qatar, home of the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East.

Arguably, these flip-flops had some rational basis. Trump says the tack toward Beijing is meant to gain its help in stopping North Korea’s accumulation of nuclear weapons. The alignment with Saudi Arabia can be cast as part of a larger campaign to turn back Iranian aggression in the Middle East — and, perhaps, help Israel broker peace with the Palestinians.

Yet it’s possible to seek Beijing’s help on North Korea, or Saudi Arabia’s on Iran, without uncritically embracing their regimes or offering them carte blanche to pursue agendas that threaten vital U.S. strategic interests. Previous U.S. presidents have tried to strike such a balance. What’s distinctive about Trump is his black-and-white approach to foreign governments: Either he loves them, or he does not.

Or maybe, the distinction is whether the president perceives that he is held in high enough regard by the regime in question. Those that seem critical, or condition their affection, such as Mexico and Germany, are out; those prepared to hang portraits of him in their capitals and celebrate his arrival with sword dances, such as Saudi Arabia, are in.

Xi’s China has not been quite so effusive. But Xi was willing to pay court to Trump at his resort in Mar-a-Lago. His government has granted Trump dozens of valuable trademarks since his inauguration, along with a bunch given to Ivanka Trump’s fashion business on the day of the summit.

China and Saudi Arabia focus their diplomacy on the Trump family. They both used as their prime conduit Jared Kushner, the presidential son-in-law whose evident naivete about foreign affairs is as great as his ambitions. As my colleague Josh Rogin has reported, Henry Kissinger opened a back channel between Kushner and Beijing before the Mar-a-Lago summit — one from which the U.S. government’s China hands were excluded.

A similar channel connects Kushner with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has emerged as the preeminent figure in a regime headed by his aged father. Before Trump’s visit to Riyadh, the two sketched out ambitious — and as yet unrealized — plans for an “Arab NATO” that, bolstered with tens of billions in U.S. weapons sales, would push back against Iran.

The clincher in these sweetheart deals has been the seduction by Xi and Salman of the president himself — which, by Trump’s own account, has been all too easy. According to the president, after just a 10-minute lecture from Xi about North Korea, he said “I realized it’s not so easy” for China to act. When he spoke about stopping terrorism in Riyadh, Trump tweeted last week that the Saudis “pointed to Qatar” — with which they have been feuding over other issues. The president swallowed their line.

No doubt the Chinese and Saudis are shrewd enough to know their current luck may not last. When China fails to rein in North Korea, or the Saudis fail to deliver the Palestinians for a Mideast peace deal, Trump may suddenly turn on them. For now, though, they have illuminated an embarrassing and somewhat scary truth about this president: When it comes to foreign affairs, he is heedless of history, susceptible to blandishments and supremely gullible.