CHERYL: WELLING BREAKING NEWS THIS MORNING, CHINA IS WARNING OTHER COUNTRIES FROM MAKING ANY TRADE DEALS WITH THE UNITED STATES AS COUNTRIES LIKE JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA HAVE BEGUN NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. CHINA'S COMMERCE MINISTRY RELEASING A STATEMENT SAYING, QUOTE, CHINA FIRMLY OPPOSES ANY PARTY REACHING A DEAL AT THE EXPENSE OF CHINA'S INTEREST. IF THIS HAPPENS, CHINA WILL NEVER ACCEPT IT AND IT WILL RESOLUTELY TAKE COUNTER MEASURES AND A RECIPROCAL MANNER.
CHINA IS DETERMINED AND CAPABLE OF SAFEGUARDING ITS EVEN RIGHTS AND INTERESTS. JOINING US NOW IS HERITAGE FOUNDATION SENIOR FELLOW, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR AND AUTHOR OF THE HUNDRED YEAR THEY'RE MONDAY, MICHAEL PILLSBURY. THANKS FOR COMING BACK.
>> THANK YOU, CHERYL. CHERYL: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS? THIS IS THREATS.
THIS IS LANGUAGE COMING FROM THE CCP THAT THEY'LL FIND WAYS TO CIRCUMVENT THE UNITED STATES, MAKE DEALS WITH OTHERS, STRONG ARM OTHER COUNTRIES. >> ONE OF THE BIG DEBATES AMONG AMERICAN CHINA EXPERTS OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS IS HOW STRONG ARE THE HARD LINERS AROUND XI JINPING. HE'S PORTRAYING HIMSELF AS A MODERATE AND BALANCER WITH PRO-MAU LEFT WINGERS ON ONE SIDE AND HARD LINERS ON THE OTHER.
WHEN THIS KIND OF STATEMENT COMES OUT, CHERYL, IT'S A SIGN THAT XI JINPING IS UNDER PRESSURE. HE'S GOT TO SAY SOMETHING ANTI-AMERICAN. THEY ALREADY SAY A LOT OF ANTI-AMERICAN THINGS THAT WE'RE ON THE DECLINE, THAT WE'RE CORRUPT, THERE'S EVEN BEEN A COUPLE CHINESE BOOKS THAT WE'RE FRAGMENTED TO PIECES, KIND OF THE EQUIVALENT OF OUR IDEA OF THE COLLAPSE OF CHINA, THEY'VE GOT A THEORY OF THE COLLAPSE OF AMERICA.
HE'S UNDER PRESSURE. THERE'S RUMORS OUT OF BEIJING THAT THERE'S A POWER STRUGGLE GOING ON, THAT THE SONS OF LEADERS THAT WERE REFORMERS ARE CRITICIZING XI JINPING ON THE ONE SIDE AND THE OTHER SIDE IS HARD LINERS COULD BE MUCH STRONGER THAN WE THOUGHT. THIS IS NOT GOOD NEWS FOR US.
THEY DID SEEM TO SOFTEN, CHERYL, LAST WEEK. THEY SAID WELL, MR. TRUMP, JUST NAME A POINT MAN, ONE PERSON TO REPRESENT HIM AND THEY WILL START THE TALKS.
I THINK THAT'S NOT TRUE. THAT'S THE REFORMERS TRYING TO SPEAK UP. MR.
TRUMP HAS NOT NAMED A POINT MAN WHO IS GOING TO BE IN CHARGE OF THE TALKS. LAST TIME AS YOU KNOW IT WAS BOB LIGHTHIZER, USDR, SOMETIMES TREASURY SECRETARY, BUT THIS IS NOT LOOKING LIKE A SMOOTH SITUATION WITH THE CHINESE AT ALL, LOOKING THE OPPOSITE THAT IT'S GETTING -- I'M GETTING MORE PESSIMISTIC ABOUT THE TALKS GETTING GOING. CHERYL: THE SOUTH KOREANS ARE COMING THIS WEEK SO THERE'S THOSE DISCUSSIONS UNDERWAY AND WE KNOW THE JAPANESE HAVE BEEN HERE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CHINA THAT'S BEEN DOING, THIS IS INTERESTING, THEY'RE RETURNING TWO BOEING MAX AIRPLANES TO THE U. S. THEY ORDERED THEM NOT TO TAKE DELIVERIES OUT OF RESPONSE TO THE TARIFFS.
THEY WERE AT A FIELD IN CHINA AND THE CCP SAID SEND THEM BACK AND FORD IS STOPPING SHIPMENTS OF SOME OF ITS MOST POPULAR CARS TO CHINA BECAUSE THEY WANT TO AVOID THE RECIPROCAL TARIFFS ON U. S. GOODS.
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS MOVING FORWARD WITH PLANS TO PUT FEES ON CHINESE SHIPS AT OUR PORTS IN AN ATTEMPT TO BREAK CHINA'S DOMINANCE ON GLOBAL SHIPPING, MICHAEL. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THESE LATEST MOVES? >> WELL, IT'S AN ESCALATION, CHERYL.
I THINK PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS KIND OF TRYING THE SWEET APPROACH, REFERRING TO XI JINPING MANY TIMES INCLUDING DURING THE CAMPAIGN AS MY FRIEND XI JINPING. BUT WHAT PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS HAD TO DO IN THE LAST MONTH IS KEEP RAISING THE TARIFFS. THEY JUST WON'T COME TO THE TABLE.
THIS ALL HAPPENED AGAIN IN THE FIRST TERM WHEN IT TOOK A YEAR TO GET THE FIRST ROUND OF TALKS STARTED. SO I'M GETTING PESSIMISTIC. AS LONG AS WE DON'T GET A PHONE CALL FROM XI JINPING OR HE DOESN'T STOP THESE NEGATIVE GESTURES TOWARD US IT'S NOT LOOKING GOOD.
CHERYL: INTERESTING, MICHAEL. LIZ PEEK IS ON SET WITH ME. SHE'S GOT A QUESTION FOR YOU.
>> GOOD MORNING, MICHAEL. >> HI, LIZ. >> THERE'S AN ARTICLE IN THE FINANCIAL TIMES THIS MORNING ABOUT SOME OF THE BIG COMPANIES LIKE ALIBABA IN CHINA TRYING TO SOURCE MORE MATERIAL OUT OF SMALL FACTORIES IN CHINA.
I'M HEARING FACTORIES ARE CLOSING ALL OVER CHINA. PEOPLE ARE BEING LAID OFF. THAT SEEMS TO ME TO BE THE BIG PRESSURE POINT.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? THE CHINESE CONSUMER IS HISTORICALLY AND FAMOUSLY RELUCTANT TO BUY OR TO UP THEIR PURCHASES BUT CAN THIS INITIATIVE FROM ALIBABA AND OTHER COMPANIES ACTUALLY TAKE HOLD? >> YOU'RE QUITE RIGHT.
I'VE BEEN WATCHING CHINESE TELEVISION OVER THE LAST COUPLE DAYS. THEY ARE COVERING LAYOFFS, FACTORIES CLOSING, THE NUMBER OF CONTAINERS THAT ARE NOT MOVING AT ALL, SO THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY LINE THE LAST FEW DAYS HAS BEEN TO HIGHLIGHT LOOK HOW MUCH WE'RE SUFFERING. AS YOU KNOW, LIZ, XI JINPING HAS GOT HIS OWN POWER BASE.
THERE'S SOMETHING LIKE 500 FAMILIES OR SO WHO ARE THE OWNERS OR THE BENEFICIARIES OF THE STATE OWNED ENTERPRISES AND THEY'RE THE ONES THAT WILL BE HURT THE MOST IF THERE'S A DEAL WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP TO DROP TARIFFS SO WE'VE GOT THE SO-CALLED 500 FAMILIES GROUP THAT IT DOESN'T CARE THAT MUCH ABOUT LAYOFFS AND UNEMPLOYMENT AND CONTAINER SHIPS BEING STOPPED. SO I'M AFRAID WE'RE GOING TO SEE MORE NEGATIVE GESTURES COME OUT OF XI JINPING AS HE TRIES TO REASSURE HIS BASE, LIZ, THAT MAKE CHINA GREAT AGAIN BASE IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THESE NUMBERS YOU'RE CITING. CHERYL: ALSO TOO, I WANT TO PICK UP ON THAT, BECAUSE NOW THE THEY'RE REPORTEDLY SANCTIONING U.
S. CONGRESS MEMBERS, OFFICIALS, HEAD OF NGOs, FOR THEIR, QUOTE, EGREGIOUS BEHAVIOR ON HONG KONG RELATED ISSUES AND THIS ACTION IS COMING IN RESPONSE TO THE U. S.
SANCTIONING HONG KONG AND CHINESE OFFICIALS LAST MONTH. HONG KONG'S LARGEST PRO DEMOCRACY POLITICAL PARTY WILL BE DISBANDING. BEIJING HAS MORE CONTROL OVER THE CITY.
HONG KONG WAS ONE OF THE LAST I GUESS ENTRY POINTS IF YOU WILL THAT SEEMED TO BE OPEN AND LOOKS LIKE THAT'S GOING TO BE SHUT AS WELL. >> YES, THE BIG FACTOR AT PLAY HERE IS THE DELISTING COMMENT THAT OUR TREASURY SECRETARY MADE JUST HYPOTHETICALLY THAT WE MAY HAVE TO DELIST CHINESE STOCKS. YOU HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR MANY YEARS, LIZ AND CHERYL.
IT'S REALLY THE $1 TRILLION WORTH OF CAPITAL THEY GET THROUGH THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE. IF WE DO DELIST THEM ALL AT ONCE, THAT'S SUPPOSED TO HELP HONG KONG. I NOTICED RECENTLY THE HONG KONG MARKET PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT HOW THIS WILL HURT HONG KONG.
THEY CANNOT ABSORB THAT MUCH CAPITAL ALL AT ONCE. SO THIS IS A VERY EFFECTIVE THREAT THAT OUR TREASURY SECRETARY HAS MADE AND I THINK WE'RE SEEING SOME REACTIONS TO IT. AGAIN, IT'S A PESSIMISTIC SIGN THAT IT THOSE GO THIS FAR AND WE STILL CAN'T GET CHINA TO COME TO THE TABLE FOR NEGOTIATIONS.
CHERYL: MARIA HAS MADE THE POINT MANY TIMES ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE'VE GOT MULTIPLE CHINESE COMPANIES LISTED ON AMERICAN EXCHANGES AND SHE'S BROUGHT THAT UP MANY TIMES. REAL QUICK, WITH REGARDS TO IRAN, I DO WANT TO ASK YOU THIS BECAUSE THIS KIND OF GOES BACK TO THAT AXIS OF EVIL. IRAN'S FOREIGN MINISTER IS SET TO VISIT CHINA TOMORROW AND THERE'S NUCLEAR TALKS BETWEEN THE U.
S. AND IRAN THAT JUST HAPPENED OVER THE WEEKEND. THOSE ARE SUPPOSED TO CONTINUE.
THE FOREIGN MINISTER VISITED RUSSIA LAST WEEK SAYING THAT IRAN ALWAYS CLOSELY CONSULTS WITH FRIENDS. RUSSIA AND CHINA OVER THE NUCLEAR ISSUE, MICHAEL. SO THESE ALIGNMENTS IF YOU WILL, CHINA, IRAN, RUSSIA, ARE THEY STRENGTHENING RIGHT NOW?
OR DO YOU THINK BECAUSE OF THE UKRAINIAN SITUATION, RUSSIA'S GOING TO PULL BACK? WHERE ARE WE RIGHT NOW, THE STATE OF PLAY? >> IRAN KEEPS SEEKING PROMISINGS FROM CHINA THAT THEY WILL PURCHASE GAS AND OIL AND OTHER THINGS FROM IRAN.
THEY'LL HAVE A STABLE SORT OF MARKET FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS DESPITE THE THREATS FROM ISRAEL AND AMERICA. THIS IS -- FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS OR SO, I TRIED TO COVER THIS IN THE 100 YEAR MARATHON, CHERYL. THE ACCESS OF THE COUNTRIES GETTING TOGETHER ON AN ANTI-AMERICAN BASIS, IT'S DANGEROUS FOR US.
YOU MENTIONED SANCTIONING AMERICAN CONGRESSMAN AND SENATORS OVER HONG KONG, THE SANCTIONS ARE ALSO ON DAN SULLIVAN OF ALASKA. HE WANTS TO OPEN ADAK, THE ISLAND, AND MAKE IT INTO A POWERFUL BASE FOR OUR FORCES, AIR FORCE, AGAINST CHINA. SO THEY'RE AFTER HIM NOW.
SENATOR DAN SULLIVAN OF ALASKA, RETIRED MARINE CORPSES COLONEL, HE'S THE NEW PUNCHING BAG. THEY'RE PICKING OUT INDIVIDUAL CONGRESSMAN AND ATTACKING THEM. IRAN SEEMS TO BE A QUASI ALLY OF CHINA.
WE DON'T SEEM TO BE ABLE TO SPLIT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IRAN AND CHINA. CHERYL: THAT'S WHY THE TALKS GOT SO MUCH ATTENTION OVER THE WEEKEND.
