White House revives Board of Trade, signals 'managed coexistence' with China

Trade policy is the story here — and the news is that the White House is moving away from trying to remake China’s economy and toward managing the parts of the relationship both sides still want. Ahead of Donald Trump’s planned May 14–15 trip to Beijing, U.S. officials are reviving a “Board of Trade” idea to structure what each country will keep buying and selling even while the rivalry stays intense. At the same time, the administration is considering bringing a group of major CEOs, including leaders from Nvidia, Apple, Exxon, and Boeing. That mix tells you a lot about the strategy. (thewirechina.com) ### What is this “Board of Trade” supposed to do? Basically, it looks like a standing mechanism for triage. Not a grand bargain. Not a reset. The idea is to identify the categories of trade both governments are still willing to tolerate or actively support(thewirechina.com)m of forcing China into deep market-model reform. (thewirechina.com) ### Why does the CEO list matter so much? Because the companies reportedly in the mix map directly onto the parts of the relationship Washington still sees as worth stabilizing. Nvidia means chips and AI hardware. Apple means consumer electronics and suppl(thewirechina.com)like a purely geopolitical meeting and starts looking like a selective commerce dealmaking exercise. (semafor.com) ### Why now? The legal and political backdrop changed fast. On May 7, the U.S. Court of International Trade struck down Trump’s 10% across-the-board global tariff, ruling that the administration had overreached under Section 122 of the Trade Act. That m(semafor.com), narrower bargaining suddenly gets more attractive. (law.com) ### Does this mean the tariff war is over? No — but it does mean the administration’s room to improvise is tighter than it looked. New Section 301 actions take time because they require an investigation and process bef(law.com)ek. That timing gap gives diplomacy more space than it had a month ago. (usnews.com) ### Is this a softer China policy? In one sense, yes. The emphasis now seems to be coexistence with guardrails, not conversion. But “softer” does not mean friendly. The administration is still keeping export controls and other restrictions in play, especially around advanc(usnews.com)ed to fully sever, yet too competitive to normalize. (thewirechina.com) ### Why are some people uneasy about this? Because a government-managed trade channel can start to look like political allocation rather than market exchange. If officials decide which sectors are safe, favored companies could gain leverage while excluded (thewirechina.com)t once. (channelnewsasia.com) ### What should you watch next week? Watch whether the CEO delegation actually materializes, whether Beijing and Washington announce a formal mechanism by name, and whether the summit produces sector-specific carveouts rather than sweeping promises. That would confirm the real change here — not peace, but managed coexistence. (semafor.com) ### Bottom line? The White House is signaling that the new goal is to fence the U.S.-China economic relationship, not fix it. That is a smaller ambition — but also a more realistic one.