The US pressure tactics don't work with China. What the media is writing

US President Donald Trump met with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung to sign bilateral agreements. But the pressure tactics used by Trump in the negotiations not only put long-time US allies in an uncomfortable position, but also work poorly against major world powers. What the foreign press writes about this is in the Izvestia article.

Bloomberg: Trump's pressure tactics don't work with superpowers

US President Donald Trump used punitive tariffs to reset relations with trading partners, thereby forcing key players, from the European Union to South Korea, to accept agreements under which they gave much more than they received. But the reality is that Trump behaves most harshly with relatively weak players. The real test will be the use of American power against recalcitrant great powers, which his swagger does not impress too much. Trump initially tried to intimidate China with tariffs, but received retaliatory measures, including strict controls on exports of rare earths.

Russia and China are implementing geopolitical projects that radically contradict the interests of the United States. To withstand China's economic pressure, the United States will need many years of strategic investment and coalition building. Trump will need Europe's help to get the Russian economy to work at full capacity and provide security guarantees to Ukraine. The United States will not be able to ensure uninterrupted supply of rare earth metals or deter Chinese military aggression in the Pacific Ocean without significant help from its allies.

Next flight: Russia and Korea discuss restoring direct flights

Contacts between Moscow and Seoul may take place at the upcoming APEC forum.

Reuters: ahead of the meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping, China resumed purchases of soybeans in the United States

The Chinese state-owned company COFCO this week purchased three shipments of soybeans from the U.S. autumn harvest, two trade sources said. These are the first purchases ahead of the meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, which will take place this week. According to sources, COFCO has purchased about 180,000 tons of soybeans for delivery in December and January through port terminals in the Pacific Northwest.

This unusual delay in purchases has cost billions of dollars to American farmers, who secured widespread support for Trump during his presidential campaign.

South China Morning Post: Trump's unpredictability may hinder his meeting with Xi

The main problem between the United States and China, which is unlikely to disappear regardless of the outcome of the leaders' meeting, is conflicting reports from Washington, undermining confidence that any deal will be implemented at all, analysts and former officials say. Concerns are growing due to the differing approaches of the administrations of Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

Yun Sun, a senior researcher at the Stimson Center, a non-profit think tank, said Beijing attributed the Washington administration's contradictory statements to internal competition. However, she believes that this pressure on Beijing may be part of a broader U.S. strategy to unbalance China. According to analysts, the fundamental problem may be that the Trump administration still does not have a comprehensive vision defining its approach to the Asian giant.

Boost supplies: The US is looking for a replacement for Chinese rare earths in Australia

The import of elements necessary for military equipment was under threat amid the conflict between Washington and Beijing

The New York Times: South Korea is forced to make a choice between China and the United States

The Korean expression "anmigenjun," which describes South Korea's policy of maintaining strategic neutrality between the United States and China, means that the country must find a balance between dependence on the United States for national defense and the economic importance of China as the most important market for South Korean companies. But the growing rivalry between the US and China is increasingly forcing South Korea to make a choice, and it is able to deviate from US policy.

Feeling pressure from China, South Korea is discovering that promises to deepen economic ties with the United States have not helped it win over the Trump administration. Under the July preliminary trade agreement, South Korea agreed to invest $350 billion in the United States and spend $100 billion on liquefied natural gas in exchange for a reduction in duties from 25% to 15%. But a final agreement has not yet been reached, as South Korea fears that such monetary injections will destabilize its currency, and due to non-compliance with all conditions, the United States does not reduce tariffs for Korean manufacturers.

The Washington Post: the terms of the agreement with the United States are alarming for South Koreans

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, US President Donald Trump called South Korea a "dear friend of America" and stressed the joint efforts of the two countries to modernize the American shipbuilding industry, which has become a priority of the new administration in an attempt to reduce the gap from dominant China. South Korea is the second largest shipbuilder in the world after China. But behind this lies a serious unresolved problem in relations between the two countries: Trump's demand that South Korea pay $350 billion in investments upfront.

Although the initial shock of the immigration raids at the Hyundai-LG plant in Georgia has subsided, some South Korean lawmakers and public organizations remain disappointed by the incident. But Trump's face-to-face meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be under the most intense scrutiny, the first since Trump returned to the White House and unleashed another trade war, with China as the main target.