From reader Mike:

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As China and the U.S. are currently seeking to negotiate an end to the current trade war — a war President Donald Trump did not start but has shown no signs of backing down from — Beijing is looking to play dirty. According to exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, “China is not only trying [to] interfere in the domestic politics of the United States, they are interfering publicly with U.S. elections.” Wengui further elaborated, “For the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the security committee has given very clear instructions that it is not permissible for Trump to win the 2020 election. … President Trump has already caused a lot of damage to the [Chinese Communist Party], so they have declared he will not be allowed to have another four years in power.”

This news is sobering, but not at all surprising. We have previously noted that the Chinese government, unlike the U.S., does not have elections with which the ruling party needs to concern itself. Therefore it’s free to target specific segments of the American economy that are generally most favorable toward Trump in an attempt to threaten him into backing off his effective tariff pressure.

In a speech last October, Vice President Mike Pence acknowledged the threat China posed, warning, “Beijing is employing a whole-of-government approach, using political, economic, and military tools, as well as propaganda, to advance its influence and benefit its interests in the United States. China is also applying this power in more proactive ways than ever before, to exert influence and interfere in the domestic policy and politics of our country.”

Guo further asserted, “We must know that the 2020 presidential election is not really an election campaign between the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. In fact, it is actually a campaign between President Trump and Wang Qishan and Xi Jinping.”