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CHINA: JINPING CRITICISES ‘WINNER TAKES ALL’ TARIFFS IN SWIPE AT TRUMP The results are likely to trigger significant changes in how the US President can meet his domestic goals, but they are
unlikely to provide relief for global superpowers he is engaged in trade disputes with. Experts have warned Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ philosophy, - the nation’s foreign policy
emphasising its nationalism in rejection of international policies - will not deviate from its current course, even with the Democrats winning the House of Representatives. As results
throughout the US begin to flood in from the midterm elections, Steven Okun, senior advisor at McLarty Associates, issued a stark warning for China when speaking to United States news
broadcaster CNBC. READ MORE: MIDTERM ELECTIONS 2018 RESULTS LIVE RELATED ARTICLES He said: “On trade, it’s going to be the same, if not worse, in terms of US-China.” The President suffered a
blow after the Democrats won the 218 seats needed to take control of the House, but the Republicans have expanded their majority in the Senate. Both of these chambers make up Congress - the
country’s main decision-making body - and approval from each is needed to pass bills into law. This result leaves Mr Trump facing challenges on several critical areas such as military
spending and his foreign business dealings, making it difficult for him to pass major legislation. But the US President will still enjoy significant executive power on areas such as trade
policy, and is able to set the terms regardless of whether Congress is divided or not. RBC Capital Markets analysts explained in a recent note this is because “Congress does’t have much of
an ability to control trade policy”. Midterm elections 2018: Donald Trump could intensify his trade war with Chinese President Xi Jinping (Image: GETTY) They added “the Oval Office has
wide-reaching powers to act unilaterally”, meaning Mr Trump is likely to “keep pushing his trade agenda”. Despite being in opposition, the Democrats and Republicans both support a tougher
stance on Chinese trade and intellectual property practices. This could lead to Mr Trump enjoying even more bipartisan support as he increases his intense push for Beijing to reduce its
bilateral deficit. David Edelman, former US ambassador to Singapore and adjunct professor at New York University, explained to CNBC: “There is less middle ground for practical trade policies
than has been the case historically. “Partisan Democrats traditionally have been the more protectionist party while Trump Republicans are extremely hawkish with regard to everything
relating to China.” RELATED ARTICLES Midterm elections 2018: Donald Trump's 'America First' philosophy will unlikely change (Image: GETTY) Mr Edelman said the midterm election
results would not impact Mr Trump’s protectionist policies and the only time Congress would take the White House to task would be if the US economy starts to suffer form the numerous trade
wars it is engaged in. The US and China have been engaged in a bitter trade war since June, with Mr Trump threatening to impose more tariffs on $267 billion of Chinese imports into the
country if they can not reach an agreement on trade ahead of his expected meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month. On Tuesday, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan appeared
to offer an olive branch when he revealed China ready to hold talks with the US in an attempt to find a resolution, because the world’s two largest economies will likely be heavily impacted
from the feud. He told the Bloomberg New Economy forum in Singapore: “Both China and the U.S. would love to see greater trade and economic cooperation. “The Chinese side is ready to have
discussions with the U.S. on issues of mutual concern and work for a solution on trade acceptable to both sides,” he said. Midterm elections 2018: Wang Qishan said China was ready to hold
talks with the US (Image: GETTY) “The world today faces many major problems that require close cooperation between China and the United States. “It is our firm belief that China and the U.S.
will both gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.” Mr Wang echoed comments made by Xi at the China International Import Expo on Sunday, where he claimed Beijing will embrace
greater openness with other nations. The Chinese President presented his country as pursuing “a new round of high-standard opening up”, intent in widening “its market access to the rest of
the world”. He added the expo “demonstrated China’s consistent position of supporting the multilateral trading system and promoting free trade. " President Xi said: “It is a concrete
action taken by China to advance an open world economy and support economic globalisation.”