Two days out from the 2017 inauguration and sad (but not surprised) to say: Trump is already putting foreign relations on the line. To make it worse, it's with one of America's largest exporters: China.

In a recent interview, Trump said that "everything is under negotiation including One China." The One China policy is the acknowledgment of only one Chinese government. Under the policy, the U.S. has formal ties with China rather than the island of Taiwan (because it is seen as a "breakaway province" that will be reunified with the mainland).

China's foreign ministry views the One China policy as "the foundation of China-U.S. ties" — and they didn't take too kindly to Trump's statement.

"If Trump is determined to use this gambit in taking office, a period of fierce, damaging interactions will be unavoidable, as Beijing will have no choice but to take off the gloves," the English-language China Daily said, according to Reuters.

Prior to Trump's statement, he broke the policy in December 2016 by talking with the Taiwanese president. The phone call "overturned decades of diplomatic protocol," prompting China to file a complaint with the U.S.

Trump claimed the call was congratulatory and took to his natural habitat to reply: Twitter. "Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call," the president-elect tweeted, brushing it off as he usually does.

But could his actions have detrimental results for the US?

“If anyone attempts to damage the One China principle or if they are under the illusion they can use this as a bargaining chip, they will be opposed by the Chinese government and people,” said Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry.

There wasn't further elaboration, but it's fair to assume that ruining relations with China could have economic (and societal) consequences for the U.S. You know all those electronics we love so much? Most of them (or their parts) come from China. All the smartphones you're attached to and the laptops you drag around your college campuses are manufactured in China and exported to the US.

So let's think, long and hard, about what Trump's really putting at risk when he takes phone calls that break a diplomatic protocol that has been in place for decades. Everyone in the U.S. has become accustomed to a certain way of life, and no matter how hard Trump tries, it's impossible to have everything be US-made and manufactured.

Our world thrives on import and export — we can't survive on our own. We need the aid of other countries, the diplomatic foreign relations. Ruining one could inevitably crumble our entire economy. And as Trump is preparing to step into office, he's already got a head start.