China won’t blink first in its fight with the US
Beijing and Washington are entering uncharted territory in their global competition
IN AMERICA’s escalating trade war with China, it won’t be Beijing that blinks first. President Xi Jinping can withstand way more economic and political pain than US President Donald Trump.
The response from the world’s second-largest economy to what it has called “blackmail” from Washington has been robust. It has said it will “fight to the end”, and initially hiked retaliatory tariffs to 84 per cent.
That was before Trump upped the ante again by imposing an effective 125 per cent rate on Chinese goods while pausing duties on other countries for 90 days. The White House clarified Thursday (Apr 10) that with a 20 per cent levy put in place earlier this year over China’s role in fentanyl trafficking, the tariff rate is now 145 per cent.
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