Understanding human complexities can strengthen US-China friendship

Growing up in the US, I watched many Americans lose their jobs as more and more products were imported from China. Not only does it cost more to produce the same product in the US compared with China, but the price of living is also much higher.

Many companies started to make their products in China instead of the US, causing the companies to close production facilities in the US, leading to many Americans losing their jobs.

In my opinion, this is what the "trade war" is all about - it really shouldn't be called a "trade war" at all. The tariffs that the American President is adding to products imported from China are being implemented to help bring more jobs back to the US.

I personally do not like Donald Trump. I don't like his methods as President of the US or his personal opinions. But, his decision to start adding tariffs to products being imported from China will help to give some Americans their jobs back. Companies that now import all of their products from China may decide to instead return to manufacturing the products in the US as a more cost-effective measure to avoid the tariffs, reopening factories and ultimately, more jobs.

Overall, I think the media descriptions from both the US and China regarding the “trade war” are misleading and one-sided, leaving out the important explanations to their citizens about why these tarrifs are being added to products.

I think it would help relations between our two countries if everybody fully understood why the US President believes it's a good idea to add these tariffs to products being imported from China, because it's not, as some may argue, because the US simply doesn't like China.

As with any country in the world, the US is home to some very nice people and some not so nice people. The majority of the US population are decent, respectful, and open-minded to each other and people from other countries. But there are some who are less open, and uncertain about anybody that doesn't look and act the way that they do. I'm ashamed of the way that some of my fellow Americans act and this includes the present President of the United States.

I personally have many Chinese friends and my wife and step daughter were both born in China. I am presently traveling in China for the first time. My family (my wife, step-daughter, wife's parents, and myself) travelled through China for 6 weeks. I've met many amazing Chinese people and have visited many beautiful places on our travels, and feel very happy to have had this opportunity. The only sad part is many Chinese people have a poor opinion of people from the US at this time, owing mostly to our current President. Still, I hope that I've changed a few people's views towards Americans during my time here.

Above all, I hope that the US and China can stay friendly and open with each other. I hope that this "trade war" does not create long-term anger towards the people that live in the US - and vice-versa.

And I certainly hope to be able to come back and visit China again in the future.

Bob is a 56-year-old American who would love to see people (and countries) treat each other peacefully.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.