Trump caught in a difficult position between China and US Congress

Editor's Note: Huang Jiyuan is an opinion editor with CGTN Digital. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

This week hasn't been great for US President Donald Trump, given the information coming out of ongoing impeachment hearings, and it is about to get worse.

On November 20th, the US House of Representatives passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, a day after the Senate passed its version of the bill. The bill has already invited stern reprimand from the Chinese government, with the Foreign Ministry warning that "China will take strong opposing measures and the US has to bear all the consequences." The bill is now on its way to Trump's desk for his signature.

The ball is in Trump's court right now. Only, he might not want to handle this particular ball.

Bloomberg has already reported that Trump is expected to sign the bill. The move would serve him well in domestic politics: the unanimous vote coming out of Senate and the 417 to 1 margin in the House show bipartisan unity in an extremely polarized time. The results have given the bill a veto-proof majority, meaning that it will become law even if Trump rejects it. With a Pew Research Center poll showing that 60 percent of the American public view China unfavorably, a veto by Trump would enrage political elites across the aisle as well as the majority of Americans — a dangerous prospect for an unpopular president seeking re-election in the midst of impeachment hearings.

However, signing the bill is not an option if Trump wants to keep good will with China in trade negotiations. Getting involved in the Hong Kong issue has not been Trump's favorite thing to do. In early August, the US president said that the Chinese "don't need advice" when it comes to Hong Kong. Since then, Trump has generally kept silent on the issue. The rare moments in which he voiced his opinions on the matter were mainly to suggest that situation is not helping the negotiation of the trade deal.

And it indeed is not helping. Hong Kong's special history and administrative status make the city politically sensitive regardless of circumstances. Now, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act gives the US government authority to interfere in the city. Such an act is a violation of China's core interests; no country can tolerate a foreign power breaching its sovereignty.

Can Trump do anything to salvage the situation? Probably not. The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act is not a product of rational policy analysis. Rather, it is a bill fueled by a long term bias against China and the inability to accept change.

Besides continuously ignoring the violence committed by Hong Kong's protesters, US legislators don't see China for what it is. Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn in her speech on the Senate floor blamed the chaos in Hong Kong on China's "absolute horrors of authoritarian rule". Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley decries China of "violent suppression of free speech".

These politicians spew out false assumptions and accusations without even considering the fact that it is the violent protesters who have played out these acts over and over again. In the name of "freedom" and "democracy", they have destroyed banks, blocked people from getting to work, thrown petrol bombs at police, set a man on fire for disagreeing with their cause and knocked an elderly cleaner down, eventually causing his death. The horrors the protestors have caused for the residents of Hong Kong and their violent suppression of different opinions mean that they are the ones that need to be sanctioned and condemned by those who want to uphold true freedom and democracy.

Because of these biases and false assumptions, the trade deal between China and the US is in jeopardy. China wants to bring the trade war to an end for the good of global economic stability, but it will not succumb to bullying and intimidation. If President Trump genuinely wants to ensure smooth negotiations, he should learn from this episode and put his own house in order first.