Trump’s speech signals more ‘cajoling and containing’ for China, analyst says

Donald Trump declared “America’s decline is over” in his inauguration speech on Monday, outlining an ambitious plan to reclaim the country’s “rightful place” in the world in the face of growing challenges from rivals including China.

Compared to his address when he became US president in 2017 and the one by his predecessor Joe Biden four years ago – both of which had a domestic focus – Trump spoke for considerably longer and put more emphasis on foreign policy.

Analysts said Trump appeared more confident than at the start of his first term, when he promised a “new era of national success” and called out China for the first time in an inaugural address.

They said the speech also underlined the changed reality for Washington over the past decade as Beijing’s influence has grown, along with its economic, technological and military capabilities.

Trump sought to portray himself as a “peacemaker and unifier” during his half-hour speech and talked more about “hope” and “restoration”, while in his 16-minute speech in 2017, Trump offered a grim view of the country, saying “this American carnage stops right here and stops right now”.

Trump’s partisan remarks and a series of executive orders he signed hours after his inauguration – to curb immigration and withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord and World Health Organization – contained mixed messages about his priorities. But the elephant in the room was China.

  

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