Trump's strange motto: Act in the name of China, but not against China

In a move considered as a direct challenge to Beijing’s growing influence in America’s backyard, the Trump administration announced targeted visa restrictions against Central American officials found to be acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

However, this seemingly tough stance is being overshadowed by a series of perplexing and contradictory foreign policy decisions that appear to undermine the administration’s own anti-China rhetoric, particularly concerning Russia that often end up shielding Beijing rather than confronting it.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio outlined the new visa policy, stating it would target people who, while in Central America, “knowingly direct, authorise, fund, provide significant support to or carry out activities that undermine the rule of law” on behalf of the CCP.

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This action, however, presents a stark contrast to the administration’s broader geopolitical strategies which critics argue are inadvertently bolstering the very China-Russia axis President Donald Trump rails against.

Further complicating the narrative, this potential withdrawal of support for Russia’s neighbours is juxtaposed with quiet discussions about potential US oil deals with Moscow, suggesting a transactional approach that prioritises deals over a coherent strategy to counter adversaries.

The inconsistency is stark when compared with Washington’s approach to Russia. Even as Trump rages online about Chinese President Xi Jinping hosting Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un at a grand military parade in Beijing and his administration is preparing to curtail long-running military assistance to European nations bordering Russia, a move that would directly benefit Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s most powerful strategic partner.

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At the same time, reports of US–Russia oil deals undercut the White House’s narrative of standing firm against Moscow’s aggression. This duality, striking deals with adversaries while claiming to oppose them has become a defining feature of Trump’s “America First” diplomacy.

Talking tough near, but not far

Rubio’s visa policy asserts a zero-tolerance stance for those allegedly helping China subvert democracy close to home, even barring the families of accused individuals from entering the US. Meanwhile, television screens filled with the spectacle of President Xi Jinping hosting Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un in Beijing, celebrating mounting anti-Western bonhomie, a scene that provoked President Trump into a late-night flurry of social media outrage.

Trump’s response landed not as a show of resolve, but of frustration. “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America,” he fumed online. His administration’s strategy, tariffs, vacillating alliances, and high-octane rhetoric has so far failed to drive meaningful change in Beijing’s behaviour, or to prevent key nations such as India from drawing closer to China.

Excuses elsewhere, exceptions on China

The contradictions deepen when comparing China policy with the administration’s posture on Russia. Washington recently signalled an end to longstanding military support for European states near Russia’s borders, a move rationalised as necessary to refocus on “the China challenge.”

Yet, in the same breath, the US has explored oil deals with Russia, further muddying whatever principled stance the administration claims to hold.

Even after headline-grabbing meetings with Putin and Kim, Trump’s number one diplomatic boasts (summits, personal relationships, and public bravado) have yielded little, Putin presses on in Ukraine, Kim expands his nuclear arsenal, and Xi steals the show as a world power-broker, hosting more dignitaries across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

U-turns and ironies in the “China doctrine”

Critics say the president is “acting in the name of China”, claiming to oppose Beijing, but taking steps that, in practice, cede influence. While America’s bevy of new restrictions in Central America aim to counter the perception of Chinese expansion, the US has not only failed to contain China’s global advance but arguably hastened it.

Trump’s blunt tariffs, attacks on partners like India and NATO members, reduced foreign aid and pick-and-choose approach to sanctions have sent traditional US allies scrambling for alternatives including closer ties with China itself.

This “America First” approach, rife with conflicting statements and reversals, has, according to many diplomats and experts, backfired.

“China is leveraging the missteps or mistakes that the US (is making),” international affairs scholar Jackie S.H. Wong told CNN. The spectacle of China playing host to America’s rivals is more than trolling, it is a sign that the world sees opportunity in an increasingly incoherent US foreign policy.