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Trump's Trade War (full film) | FRONTLINE

Apr 06, 2020
plowed into swords. That speech was not a hardline speech, that speech was a declaration of economic war and potentially a real war. In China, it was read by everyone up to the top. Did the vice president issue any type of evidence? SULLIVAN: Like what? As a foreshadowing of, you know, something really different and something that was really alarming to them. SULLIVAN: Why was it alarming to them? It was a speech very lacking in nuances and undiplomatic. It was a kind of indictment. Both China and the United States must make an effort to ensure that bilateral relations do not get out of control.
trump s trade war full film frontline
Our message to China's rulers is this: this president will not back down. (Audience applauds) That was the point of no return and it is not being recognized enough. It was the most important speech of the entire Trump administration. ♪ ♪ SULLIVAN: At first, the focus of the

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war had been on tariffs and the revival of 20th century industries. But now it was about much more. about who will dominate the cutting-edge industries of the 21st century. So I headed to Silicon Valley, where the battle was raging. The fear within this White House is that China is using its vast financial resources to technologically get ahead of the United States.
trump s trade war full film frontline

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SULLIVAN: The Trump administration was trying to restrict China's access to valuable technology developed by American companies. First, however, this morning, the Trump White House announced a turnaround. Use existing law related to national emergencies to restrict Chinese investment in sensitive technologies. SULLIVAN: On Sand Hill Road, I met one of the valley's most experienced high-tech bankers, who was concerned about what he was seeing. He told me about a flood of calls he started receiving from Chinese investors about five years ago. He recalled in particular one Chinese investor. They had sent him to invest in technology; Could he help?
trump s trade war full film frontline
And I said, "Well, what kind of technology?" And he had a hard time answering the question. And if he pushed it hard, clearly in the end, it would be artificial intelligence, semiconductors. Maybe things that have to do with the automotive industry. SULLIVAN: The top priorities of the Chinese government. The top priorities of the Chinese government, right? And then I said, "Well, how much do you have to invest?" And he claimed that he had access to a billion dollars. SULLIVAN: A billion dollars? Yes. And then I met a private equity firm that had 15 billion dollars from some Chinese government entity.
trump s trade war full film frontline
SULLIVAN: How much money? 15 billion dollars. SULLIVAN: With a B. Yes, and they told me that his only, his only mandate was to invest in semiconductors. SULLIVAN: What did you think of that? I thought, "This is... I don't know if this is good." SULLIVAN: I mean, you've been at the heart of Silicon Valley financing... Yes. SULLIVAN: For 35 years. Yes. SULLIVAN: What do you think is going on here? I think China is doing everything it can to become self-sufficient, from a technological point of view. They realize that to achieve this, they either have to start pedaling faster on their own or they have to buy a lot of technology. (speaking softly in the background) SULLIVAN: That one.
Thank you. At Stanford University I found investors and entrepreneurs grappling with China's high-tech ambitions. Silicon Valley is very much at the center of the

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war. SULLIVAN: Why do you say that? The United States needs to maintain a technological advantage. Silicon Valley is generating a lot of the innovations that are driving America, in terms of all kinds of different technologies. In this chart, in terms... Someone in the business community said, you know, "We're not in a trade war, we're in a technology war." And I think that's probably what we're really worried about. Many Chinese technology companies are investing heavily in 5G...
Now there are areas where they are actually, you know, quite competitive, and some areas where they even seem to have an advantage. And you know what? Chinese companies are already working on 6G. SULLIVAN: Despite their concerns about China, people here also depend on Chinese investments and were worried that the Trump administration was going too far. Do you think the administration had good reason to clamp down on China's investments in Silicon Valley? I think so, but there is a difference between "Yes, there is a problem" and the response being measured, appropriate and informed. I think they may end up operating to our detriment broadly economically, but also, without the ability to collaborate, it will be very difficult for the United States to keep up.
Business used to be the drag on the relationship, because American companies made money, American consumers got cheap goods, and kept inflation down. China acquired technical knowledge, capital, etc. The commercial relationship is now the biggest conflict, because we are both betting on all the technologies of the future. We are both competing for global leadership influence. So now business is irritating and conflict is. ♪ ♪ SULLIVAN: As I drove through the valley, I could see the challenge of this high-tech conflict. Chinese companies are visibly present, closely connected to the economy. And few people I met here thought the Trump administration's hard line toward China would be good for anyone in the long run.
The endgame here is the decoupling of the US and Chinese economies. Which, by the way, is already underway and will continue. I think there are people who think that isolating ourselves is ultimately the best solution. SULLIVAN: To separate the economies of China and the United States. Yes. But that seems very sad, because we could do a lot for each other. If your goal is to stop China from advancing, you won't succeed anyway, because they will simply innovate around you. Why would you want to stop someone from progressing? Me, I don't see that. I think our goal should be...
SULLIVAN: Some people would say because they could become more powerful in the world market than the United States. I think the best goal is for us to spend time becoming more powerful. ♪ ♪ SULLIVAN: That was a sentiment I had been hearing throughout my reporting on the trade war. And back to Ohio, where I first saw the impact of the tariffs. The future is at stake for more workers at General Motors. SULLIVAN: People were making the same point in the face of seemingly unstoppable economic forces. A major American factory stopped production today... SULLIVAN: Earlier this year, the GM plant in Lordstown stopped producing cars... (honking, crowd screaming) the latest blow to auto workers.
This plant cannot close. When it first opened, it was the largest plant under one roof in the world. (singing) SULLIVAN: As China aggressively pursues next-generation technology, the conversation in Lordstown that day was how this plant could be transformed to keep America competitive. My personal hope is that General Motors, which is investing billions of dollars in green, all-electric, emission-free cars, decides to build them right here. (car horn) We have to fix our system to compete with China. We have to internalize some of this blame and not spend all our time blaming China. They've misled us, they've done some things we don't agree with, they've done some things against the agreements they've made, but they're focused and moving forward.
China has a plan. They got a ten, twenty and fifty year plan. I mean, we really need to take this seriously, in terms of electric vehicles, in terms of new technology, in terms of manufacturing, and making sure that our government supports us. We didn't do what China is doing. We don't look at, "Where are the industries of the future? Where... what kind of training do we need? What kind of people do we need? What kind of incentives do companies need to do this?" This is where, in fact, the Chinese system we have always despised now has an advantage. ♪ ♪ SULLIVAN: Over the past few weeks in Washington, President Trump has been ramping up pressure to reach a deal on at least some of the long-standing issues.
We're turning around. We'll see what happens. We have a long way to go, but not very far. What is still left to accept, sir? We have things, we have things. We're talking about intellectual property protection and theft, we're talking about certain tariffs... SULLIVAN: Despite the challenges, he says a deal is possible. This is the granddaddy of them all, and we'll see if it happens. SULLIVAN: But regardless of whether a deal is reached, Trump's trade war has intensified the economic conflict. I think I'll quote my Chinese friends... SULLIVAN: And the specter of a prolonged rivalry looms large.
What does Trump want from China? What did the White House camp you were at mean? What do you want? I think you need... you actually need a change of the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party. SULLIVAN: How the hell... I think the goal of entering China is pretty simple, is to bring them... is to break the back of this totalitarian mercantilist economic society... SULLIVAN: You're talking about change of regime. Well, first of all, no one in the White House is talking about that, okay? And the president wouldn't even consider that. They're talking about a trade deal and some fundamental economic change.
What I'm saying is that one of these two is going to... this, this, this mercantilist and totalitarian system that has a network effect, or the type of liberal and democratic West. One of those two systems will be the system at the end of the day. (man speaking Chinese) Trade wars can get out of control pretty quickly. The arrest of a top Chinese telecommunications executive... This is really the United States escalating its actions against Huawei. Tensions intensify in the South China Sea. Taiwan has become a hot topic. Our next big war could be fought against China. This is my optimistic scenario, that we will have controlled tension.
But we have the pessimistic scenario. We have the opportunity to see the so-called... I don't like the term, but I do like the new cold war. I don't think like the one the United States had with the USSR. But we will have another kind of cold war that no one has ever experienced. But I think it is a comprehensive confrontation. That's dangerous. That's really dangerous, and if that happens, if that happens, it's going to last quite a while. So that's a tragedy for everyone, I think. ♪ ♪ Go to pbs.org/

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for more reporting on "Trump's Trade War." Some of the people who are very pro-tariffs right now argue that the United States has lost its manufacturing base.
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