Trump trade tactics may be paying off

Americans up to their elbows in election alligators might have missed it: The great wall of Chinese trade just cracked. While voters were busy recalibrating the balance of power in President Trump’s Washington, China pledged to make its markets more accessible to international business. In a speech at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to cut its tariffs on imported products and streamline its customs procedures.

American leaders have long treated China’s foreign trade advantage over the United States like the weather – something to complain about without trying to do anything about it – but this may signal that the president’s hard-nosed method of dealing with the most stubborn of global competitors is paying off. If daylight seeps through China’s formidable trade barriers, it would be good news for Americans and, ultimately, the global economy. Now there is hope that an anticipated meeting between the two at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires later this month will improve the likelihood of a trade agreement. ‘‘I think we’ll make a deal with China,’’ says Trump.

With the political die now cast in Washington, the leaders of the planet’s two most dominant economies have an opportunity to erase their tariff schemes and come to terms on trade. Prosperity will flourish if fairness prevails.