Trump is the ‘least worst option’ for China - professor at the London School of Economics

U.S. President Donald Trump is fighting an “all-front” trade war and that may not be a bad thing for China, said one professor at the London School of Economics.

Washington has locked itself into trade disputes with multiple countries, which has weakened historical ties and prevented some of those nations from aligning themselves against China, said Keyu Jin, associate professor of economics at LSE, told CNBC.

“Trump is fighting an all-front war. What could not be better for China? If there were not such a strong alliance with Europe, which is what China’s more concerned about — everyone ganging up against China. Now, Trump is not making that possible, so that’s why he’s the least worst option,” Jin said.

The U.S. and China have slapped tariffs on billions of dollars of one another’s goods. But key sticking points in trade talks include other issues like intellectual property protection and forced technology transfers.

“It is pushing China’s strive for self-sufficiency, technological independence,” Jin said.

For one, China is developing its own chip industry to increase domestic semiconductor production, she said.