The United States historically has focused on negotiating the rules of international trade, and then allowing economic conditions to determine the volume. It doesn’t matter if a nation has a trade deficit with China if it has offsetting trade surpluses with other nations. Increasing exports to China doesn’t mean that the United States is increasing overall exports. The United States is essentially demanding that China shift trade away from other countries, some of which are American allies. The United States also has long pushed China to develop a more market-oriented economy.

Source: International New York Times January 17, 2020 01:07 UTC