I agree with David Goldman: the president likely secured his reelection with the move toward a trade deal. But, without a long-term understanding — and plan — for resisting Chinese IP theft and illicit tech transfers to China — the United States will inevitably become just another middle power in an increasingly Chinese-dominated world. President Trump must insist that China cease its ongoing technology war upon the United States before any kind of deal is agreed to. He must also advocate for Congress to make technology transfers illegal under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Then, the president should order America’s clandestine services to wage an unremitting cyber campaign against any Chinese entity that seeks to target, steal, or destroy American intellectual property.

President Trump: any short-term benefits that may be gleaned from negotiating with China on trade may equal a long-term strategic defeat for the United States in the ongoing struggle for supremacy between Beijing and Washington.

Until an American leader does comprehend this fact, American workers will continue to lose their livelihoods (thereby gutting the United States of once-vital middle-class communities), the American economy will lose billions of dollars to China, and the United States will become a subordinate power to China’s growing hegemony.