Star Trek <\/em>quote was actually by Spock, who said, \u201cOnly Nixon could go to China\u201d. It meant that only President Nixon, a hardline anti-communist (who triggered the \u201ckitchen debate\u201d with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at a 1950\u2019s kitchen show) had the political \u201cchops\u201d to visit the Communist People\u2019s Republic. And only Admiral James T Kirk, the renowned warrior against the Klingon Empire, could open negotiations with the United Federation of Planets\u2019 arch-rival.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDonald Trump is neither Richard Nixon, nor James T Kirk. The latter two were opening negotiations from strength. And Trump might have been in that position, a couple of months ago, before his \u201cwar of choice\u201d in Iran. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But now the United States is caught in a stalemate, an asymmetric standoff with a \u201clesser\u201d military power in Iran. We have \u201call the cards\u201d when it comes to bombs and weapons. But Iran is willing to accept incredible levels of punishment, and still disrupt the world\u2019s economy by holding the Straits of Hormuz. That\u2019s something they haven\u2019t done before; a direct reaction to the US\/Israeli attacks on their nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hat in Hand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
So Trump goes to China without a victory in Iran.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, he goes as a man desperate to find a solution to the problem he created.\u00a0\u00a0The entire world is looking for the United States to end the economic crisis originating in the Persian Gulf, and, so far, the United States hasn\u2019t delivered.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What can China do?\u00a0\u00a0They are a major supplier of weapons to Iran, and a major consumer of oil that comes through the Straits.\u00a0\u00a0So they have an interest in gaining a settlement in the Middle East, and some influence over the remaining hardline generals in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, now in charge of the Iranian government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So now the author of the \u201cArt of the Deal\u201d is in China, needing some deal “magic” to end the new quagmire in Iran.\u00a0\u00a0What does Trump have to offer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taiwan and Chips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The primary long-term goal of China is to gain control of the island nation of Taiwan.\u00a0\u00a0The United States has, since 1949, defended the right of Taiwan to be a Chinese nation independent of the People\u2019s Republic.\u00a0\u00a0Taiwan is armed with US made F-16 fighters, US made M1-A2 Abrams battle tanks, and US made Patriot missile defense systems.\u00a0\u00a0The great Taiwanese fear is that their protection will be compromised by some bargain Trump might make with President Xi of the People’s Republic.\u00a0Trump has already said he will discuss US arms sales to Taiwan with the Communist Chinese leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And China wants access to the most advanced computer chips (ironically, mostly produced in Taiwan).\u00a0\u00a0The US has blocked that access, unwilling to give the Chinese military the ability to match US systems.\u00a0\u00a0So there\u2019s another bargaining “chip” that could \u201chit the table\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0(And, as President Biden realized, the production of these kind of chips inside the United States should be a major US priority.\u00a0\u00a0Biden began that process with the \u201cChips Act\u201d passed by Congress).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trade and Manufacturing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Besides pressure on Iran, Trump wants more trade with China.\u00a0\u00a0One of the main products the US used to sell to China was soybeans.\u00a0\u00a0But the Trump tariffs put an end to that trade, and China turned to other sources throughout the world.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s caused many Midwest farmers (mostly Trump supporters) to face severe financial strain and even bankruptcy.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, it\u2019s expected that the US President will try to make a deal to bring more Chinese manufacturing to the United States.\u00a0\u00a0This will create an odd conflict here at home.\u00a0\u00a0MAGA has been the leader against Chinese based industries in the United States, particularly when it comes to solar energy development.\u00a0\u00a0Even here in Pataskala, there was a MAGA outcry when a partly Chinese owned company opened up a solar panel factory just down the road.\u00a0\u00a0We saw Facebook memes of Mao Zedong and saw the immortal phrase, \u201cChinese Communists in Pataskala!!!\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Desperate Times<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Another watch-phrase:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cdesperate times call for desperate solutions\u201d. The US President is desperate to end Iran.\u00a0\u00a0After all, it\u2019s interfering with the Ballroom development!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Will Trump throw Taiwan \u201cunder the bus\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0Will he re-open trade with the Chinese Communist manufacturing behemoth?\u00a0\u00a0And will he let China have the most advanced computer chips in the world?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s plane just touched down in China.\u00a0\u00a0The President passed the first test:\u00a0\u00a0he made it down the \u201cbig stairs\u201d from Air Force One without incident.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s hope that\u2019s not the only success he has in the next forty-eight hours.\u00a0\u00a0And, let\u2019s hope that he doesn\u2019t give away our allies to end his war in Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Negotiate from Strength \u201cGoing to China\u201d is a phrase from American history (and from the movie, Star Trek VI). Ok, the Star Trek quote was actually by Spock, who said, \u201cOnly Nixon could go to China\u201d. It meant that only President Nixon, a hardline anti-communist (who triggered the \u201ckitchen debate\u201d with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at a 1950\u2019s kitchen show) … Continue reading “Going to China”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Nixon went to China - and now Trump does too. Their power in the world makes all the difference.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nGoing to China : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/going-to-china\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Going to China : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Negotiate from Strength \u201cGoing to China\u201d is a phrase from American history (and from the movie, Star Trek VI). Ok, the Star Trek quote was actually by Spock, who said, \u201cOnly Nixon could go to China\u201d. It meant that only President Nixon, a hardline anti-communist (who triggered the \u201ckitchen debate\u201d with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at a 1950\u2019s kitchen show) … Continue reading "Going to China"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/going-to-china\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-13T12:57:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-13T12:57:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marty Dahlman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@martydahlman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@martydahlman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marty Dahlman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/13\\\/going-to-china\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/13\\\/going-to-china\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Marty Dahlman\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c\"},\"headline\":\"Going to China\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T12:57:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-13T12:57:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/13\\\/going-to-china\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":833,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/13\\\/going-to-china\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/13\\\/going-to-china\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/13\\\/going-to-china\\\/\",\"name\":\"Going to China : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T12:57:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-13T12:57:35+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/13\\\/going-to-china\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/13\\\/going-to-china\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/13\\\/going-to-china\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Going to China\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/\",\"name\":\"Trump World - Essays on Politics and the Trump Administration\",\"description\":\"Essays on Politics and Life in Our America\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c\",\"name\":\"Marty Dahlman\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dahlman.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dahlman.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dahlman.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\",\"width\":480,\"height\":640,\"caption\":\"Marty Dahlman\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dahlman.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\"},\"description\":\"I'm Marty Dahlman. After forty years of teaching and coaching track and cross country, I've finally retired!!! I've also spent a lot of time in politics, working campaigns from local school elections to Presidential campaigns.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dahlman.online\",\"https:\\\/\\\/m.facebook.com\\\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/martydahlman\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Going to China : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/going-to-china\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Going to China : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life","og_description":"Negotiate from Strength \u201cGoing to China\u201d is a phrase from American history (and from the movie, Star Trek VI). Ok, the Star Trek quote was actually by Spock, who said, \u201cOnly Nixon could go to China\u201d. It meant that only President Nixon, a hardline anti-communist (who triggered the \u201ckitchen debate\u201d with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at a 1950\u2019s kitchen show) … Continue reading \"Going to China\"","og_url":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/going-to-china\/","og_site_name":"Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life","article_publisher":"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/","article_author":"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/","article_published_time":"2026-05-13T12:57:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-13T12:57:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Marty Dahlman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@martydahlman","twitter_site":"@martydahlman","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marty Dahlman","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/going-to-china\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/going-to-china\/"},"author":{"name":"Marty Dahlman","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c"},"headline":"Going to China","datePublished":"2026-05-13T12:57:34+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-13T12:57:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/going-to-china\/"},"wordCount":833,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/going-to-china\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/going-to-china\/","url":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/going-to-china\/","name":"Going to China : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-05-13T12:57:34+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-13T12:57:35+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/going-to-china\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/going-to-china\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/going-to-china\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Going to China"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/","name":"Trump World - Essays on Politics and the Trump Administration","description":"Essays on Politics and Life in Our America","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c","name":"Marty Dahlman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1","width":480,"height":640,"caption":"Marty Dahlman"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1"},"description":"I'm Marty Dahlman. After forty years of teaching and coaching track and cross country, I've finally retired!!! I've also spent a lot of time in politics, working campaigns from local school elections to Presidential campaigns.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.dahlman.online","https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/","https:\/\/x.com\/martydahlman"]}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8613"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8616,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8613\/revisions\/8616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}