Did President Trump Just Set Up A New Opening To China?

President Donald Trump appeared to some observers to reverse his previous posture related to Chinese encroachment into the United States auto industry recently. During a September 11 interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, the President said, “If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I’d be okay with that.”

But is this really a position reversal, or a U.S. President publicly negotiating terms of conditions in advance of his upcoming meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who will meet with Mr. Trump during a formal state visit on September 24? The answer is all in the details. The President caveated his statement by saying he might accommodate Chinese cars being manufactured on U.S. soil but only if the Chinese companies agree to employ U.S. workers to make them.

“Japan does it, but they hire our people. The big thing is they hire our people,” he said.

It’s true: Japan does it, Korea does it, Germany does it, and Swedish company Volvo does it. There are probably more I’m not thinking of off the top of my head. So, allowing China to enter into the U.S. auto market in this way would certainly be well within the norms of how the market has functioned for many decades now.

But back to the main question: Are the President’s remarks a reversal of his previous position on the subject? The answer appears to be a firm “not really.”

Go back to Mr. Trump’s acceptance speech at the 2024 GOP National Convention. As I wrote here the day after he delivered that speech, he said more about energy in it than any American president had ever done. Trump spoke right at 1,000 words related to the energy topic that night, including his thoughts about China and its ambitions to flood the U.S. market with its comparatively low-priced electric vehicles.

He spoke at length about plans by Chinese companies like BYD to either ship those EVs into the U.S. from Mexico, via either China-based plants or plants located on Mexican soil. He chastised the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) for continuing to support then-President Joe Biden and other Democrats while this was taking place.

What the President did not say during those 1,000 words about energy was anything about being opposed to allowing Chinese companies to invest billions in manufacturing plants on U.S. soil where they would build their cars using U.S. workers. I have tried and failed to find any other speech or appearance since he announced his candidacy for president in 2015 in which Trump has stated any similar position.  

This all seems significant given the fact that Xi Jinping will be accompanied by a delegation of Chinese company CEOs when he visits Washington, D.C. next week. The South China Morning Post reports that carmakers will be among the companies represented. While none of the executives have been authorized by the Chinese government to comment on the record about the goals of the delegation, it seems doubtful they’d all be doing this as a simple pleasure, sight-seeing tour. 

President Trump’s apparent openness to a conditional Chinese entry into the American automobile market is striking, coming as it does amid the current frenzy centered on the exploding AI industry and the U.S./China competition to emerge the “winner” in that race. But business, as they say, is business, and Mr. Trump apparently sees the car making business as a sector in which he and Mr. Xi can reach an accommodation. It’s a position that seems unlikely to improve his frosty relationship with the UAW.

David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.