Q&A with Edouard Prisse

  

 

 

Edouard Prisse is the author of the new book Sleeping with the Enemy: What the White House Still Misses on China. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Sleeping with the Enemy?

 

A: I was inspired by President Bill Clinton’s initiative in the year 2000, which was based on totally wrong arguments with which he started the now 25-year-old American free trade relationship with China.

 

I was inspired by the fact that this is so obviously an error, and that it was understandable early on that this was going to upset the power position of the US in the world, as is happening now.

Q: How would you describe the current relationship between the U.S. and China?

 

A: This economic free trade relationship is still maintaining a grave economic disequilibrium, because China has production costs of about half those of the US. With the ongoing free trade, the political and strategic consequences for the US are negative and are huge.

 

Q: What do you see looking ahead for the relationship?

 

A: It will gradually get worse if it is not competently tackled and repaired by the US government, in cooperation with the European Union. At present, nothing is even pointing in that direction, except for the fact that President Trump sees the danger quite clearly, but also handles it poorly, up till today.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: I hope they will see that the above economic error, unchecked as it still is, will go on and will continue undermining our own industry and weakening our position in the world, unless checked.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Against many odds, I am trying to get the above view read and more widely understood. I am also working on an article about the generalized loss of macro-economic understanding in government circles, both in the US and elsewhere.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Yes. First, as a consequence of this ongoing drama, which is the result of human incompetence in our leaders, please realize that our democratic civilization is under threat, while general opinion is still blind to this so obviously degrading situation.

 

Second, that this book, based as it is on careful study and well-researched facts, gives a warning that our civilization is under threat and that this situation should be repaired; the White House seems to be asleep, when it comes to this grave situation.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb