With China And The Us At Intense Economic Odds, Nations Are Being Forced To Choose Sides

One went to the United States. The other went to China. It was a sign of the times.

While the Swiss president was in Washington last week to lobby U.S. officials over President Donald Trump's threatened 31 tariff on Swiss goods, the Swiss foreign minister was in Beijing, expressing his nation's willingness to strengthen cooperation with China and upgrade a free trade agreement.

As Trump's trade war locks the world's two largest economies on a collision course, America's unnerved allies and partners are cozying up with China to hedge their bets. It comes as Trump's trade push upends a decade of American foreign policy - including his own from his first term - toward rallying the rest of the world to join the United States against China. And it threatens to hand Beijing more leverage in any eventual dialogue with the U.S. administration.

With Trump saying that countries are "kissing my ass" to negotiate trade deals on his terms or risk stiff import taxes, Beijing is reaching out to countries far and near. It portrays itself as a stabilizing force and a predictable trading partner, both to cushion the impact from Trump's tariffs and to forge stronger trade ties outside of the U.S. market.

"America and China are now locked in a fierce contest for global supremacy," Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in an April 16 speech. "Both powers claim they do not wish to force countries to choose sides. But in reality, each seeks to draw others closer into their respective orbits."