Hang up the phone

Fully seven weeks before he is due to take office, President-elect Donald Trump launched what looked like an offensive against China beginning last week. First came a precedent-breaking phone call with the president of Taiwan; then came a series of tweets assailing China’s trade and currency policies and its buildup in the South China Sea. Trump’s rhetoric was not new, and his apparent strategy of pushback against the regime of Xi Jinping has some merit.

What’s worrying is the evident lack of preparation and diplomatic care in the initiative, as well as the unintended consequences it may produce.

Last Friday, in a move that was reportedly planned, Trump took a congratulatory phone call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, breaking with decades of U.S. policy.

The phone call predictably raised alarms in Beijing.

By itself, a courtesy call does not seem so earthshaking to us, given that Taiwan is a thriving democracy with a vibrant civil society and is an important U.S. trading partner. Yet it may produce countermoves from Beijing.

The president-elect did not stop with the phone call. Next came Twitter messages on Sunday that echoed his campaign blasts against China on economic issues and the South China Sea.

The reality of these issues is far more complex than Trump’s tweets allow. But more importantly, they carried a tone of aggressive challenge. Do they mean Trump will plunge the United States into a trade war with China? He must realize that such a confrontation could prove counterproductive and a serious drag on his hopes to boost economic growth at home.

Trump takes pride in being undiplomatic and unpredictable. But if he wants to effectively challenge China, a rash of Twitter messages hardly seems the right way to go about it.