Clete Willems Discusses China Trade with Washington Examiner

Akin Gump public law and policy partner Clete Willems has been profiled by the Washington Examiner. In the Q&A article “Former Trump trade adviser Clete Willems talks China and cycling,” Willems, a former top trade negotiator for President Trump, discusses the trade war with China and how to go about resolving it as well as his love of biking.

Some of the specific topics covered in the article include:

• Willems’ thoughts on the China trade war and the current Chinese sentiment: “It would be a mistake for China to simply try to wait out this President to get a better deal. … Yea, this is a real thing, the [conflict with China] it’s bipartisan — it's not going away.”
• How to achieve an actual result and get a trade deal with China: “This has never been about keeping China’s economy down. The way that the President sees this is that U.S. companies should have a level playing field; they should have the opportunity to compete on fair terms. And, you know, China’s economic growth can be good for everyone. … I wish that understanding could be better promoted in China. So that China would then have the political space to see that this is a mutually beneficial deal.”
• Willems’ hobbies or passions: “I'm a huge cyclist … I race bikes on the weekend. I have a team I race with called RedShift racing. And I race competitively in the D.C. area. … I also used to ride my bike to the White House.”