China wants to profit from the west but doesn't want to be like it

Understanding Chinese complexities and contradictions might help to understand the Chinese response to the trade war

Theories abound for why the US-China trade talks collapsed into stalemate, from misplaced overconfidence on the part of Beijing to President Donald Trump’s calculation that a tariff fight will boost his re-election chances. It helps to look beyond the political maneuvering and consider China’s history.
 

Throughout its 500-year relationship with the West, Beijing has sought to profit from its wealth without truly embracing its ideals and norms. That long-standing ambivalence is playing out in trade negotiations today, and probably doomed them before they even got underway.
 

The notion that China can be turned “Western” has been the mainstay of US