Financial Times writes, "...The US, EU and Japan last week ramped up pressure on China on trade, subsidies and intellectual property issues. In a rare effort towards international co-operation by the Trump administration, the three issued a statement on the sidelines of a World Trade Organization meeting in Buenos Aires last week that took aim at "severe excess capacity" in steel and other sectors and the role of illegal subsidies and state-owned enterprises in causing it. The statement, which also targeted the forced transfer of intellectual property, did not name China directly. But officials have made clear that China is the statement's main target, though not the only one. The intention behind the trilateral alliance is to avert a lurch towards protectionism by wringing concessions from Beijing...But from a broader perspective, such mounting tensions represent an existential test for the global trading system. At issue is whether China's state-driven, hybrid system has become so divergent from free-market principles that fruitful co-operation is precluded... The US and EU argue that illegal subsidies, state financing and favourable policies toward state-owned enterprises have contributed to industrial overcapacity that is flooding world markets with cheap steel, aluminium and other commodities. Such accusations may be justified. But this does not make the success of the trilateral approach to China any more likely. The issues that the US, EU and Japan identified are fused into the nature of Beijing's party state. They are expressions of a political economy that China has no intention of rolling back.

Reuters reported that President Donald Trump will lay out a new U.S. national security strategy on Monday based on his "America First" policy and will, among other items, make clear that China is a competitor, two senior U.S. officials said on Saturday. Trump has praised Chinese President Xi Jinping while also demanding that Beijing increase pressure on North Korea over its nuclear program and to change trade practices to make them more favorable to the United States. The national security strategy, to be rolled out in a speech by Trump, should not be seen as an attempt to contain China but rather to offer a clear-eyed look at the challenges China poses, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The strategy, which was still being drafted, may also reverse Democratic President Barack Obama's declaration in September 2016 that climate change is a threat to security, one official said. Trump, a Republican, is to lay out his foreign policy priorities, and will emphasize his commitment to "America First" policies such as building up the U.S. military, confronting Islamist militants and realigning trade relationships to make the United States more competitive, the officials said.