Hong Kong, Feb. 17 -- As newly installed President Donald Trump pursues his personal agenda in the White House, Chairman Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) elites must be rubbing their hands with glee. Trump and his senior officials are alarming or snubbing one country after another, thus providing China multiple opportunities to advance its own authoritarian cause.

With regularity, the almost buffoonish actions of Trump are lowering respect for the USA around the world. Whether it is threats to seize control of the Panama Canal or Greenland, Trump is making a mockery of the rule of law. In language reminiscent of China's leaders, the American second-term president has not ruled out the use of force to "retake" the Panama C...