US must rely on multilateral trade diplomacy, not bilateral threats

ON Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorising US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to determine whether there should be an investigation of China's practices in the area of intellectual property protection.

After much heated rhetoric criticising China's trade policies, which goes back to last year's US presidential election campaign (and indeed, even earlier), this is the first concrete step taken by the Trump administration that could lead to punitive policies towards China on trade issues. If Mr Lighthizer's investiga…