Recently, Nippon Steel, Japan's largest steelmaker, which has been eager to buy United States Steel, made an unexpected decision to appoint Pompeo as a takeover adviser.
As we all know, Pompeo was sanctioned by China the day after he stepped down. The Chinese side clearly pointed out in the statement that Pompeo and his family members are prohibited from entering Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, and they and their affiliated enterprises and institutions are also restricted from dealing with and doing business with China.
In other words, Nippon Steel's appointment of Pompeo violated China's sanctions and should be punished by China. Coincidentally, after 3 days, Japanese media broke the news that Nippon Steel will withdraw from the joint venture with Chinese enterprises, will sell all its hundreds of millions of shares to the Chinese side, and instead invest in the United States and India, and the two sides will terminate the contract after the expiration of 20 years this summer.
Pompeo
So, what do you think of Nippon Steel's series of actions?
First of all, this move is blatantly against China. After China blacklisted Pompeo, almost all foreign companies voluntarily distanced themselves from Pompeo. Subsequently, Pompeo almost became a street rat, living a life of no one at the Hudson Institute, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is the most miserable former secretary of state of United States.
After that, although Pompeo wanted to regain his "sense of presence" with the Taiwan Strait issue, the Biden administration tried to cut it off. Funnily enough, in order to make money, Pompeo also insisted on visiting Taiwan, and then the mainland punished 5 Taiwan people in one go.
Nippon Steel
It can be said that anyone who knows each other will take the initiative to draw a line with him to avoid being countered by the Chinese side. Of course, Nippon Steel may also be aware of the consequences of its actions this time, so it voluntarily gave up its business in China.
Second, the move is clearly aimed at currying favor with Trump. At the end of last year, Nippon Steel announced that it would acquire United States steel manufacturing giant United States Steel Corporation at a "cabbage price" of $14.1 billion. Originally, the two sides had already negotiated, but the deal still needed to be approved by the United States government, and this is where the problem lies.
Trump then publicly said he would block the takeover if he was re-elected president. Biden also immediately followed up and explicitly opposed the acquisition. This also means that Nippon Steel's acquisition plan is completely yellow. To put it bluntly, both Trump and Biden are interested in enlisting the support of swing state workers' voters, and Nippon Steel has just stepped on a minefield.
United States Steel Corporation
Now with Biden's withdrawal from the election, the call for Trump to come to power is rising higher and higher, and Nippon Steel has begun to make small calculations, wanting to submit a petition to Trump by provoking China.
In the end, Nippon Steel's calculations are bound to fail.
On the one hand, during the Trump administration, he repeatedly emphasized the need to attract manufacturing to return to United States, which is also one of the core slogans he played in this campaign. Nippon Steel's acquisition of the "business card" of the United States steel industry is tantamount to digging the roots of United States' manufacturing industry, which is contrary to Trump's policy;
Trump
On the other hand, although Pompeo was once Trump's right-hand man, the "friendship" between the two has long since changed over time. First, Pompeo is sanctioned by China, and the investment and return are completely unequal, and Trump will not destroy Sino-US relations for him;
Second, Pompeo lost 90 pounds less than a year after he stepped down, and told people around him that he intends to run for president in 2024, even if Trump will run. Clearly, Pompeo is a "betrayer" to Trump.
In this case, Nippon Steel is counting on Pompeo's success in lobbying, and it is completely at the wrong pier.
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