‘Trump’s actions amount to declaring war on China’
Tariff turmoil has exposed the ‘blackmailing nature’ of the United States as Beijing hits back
President Donald Trump’s tariff turmoil is a declaration of “war on China and the world.” As relations between Washington and Beijing slide into animosity, concerns are growing after he threatened to ratchet up duties on the world’s second-largest economy to more than 100%.
It followed the decision by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s administration to retaliate earlier this week after initial American import taxes. The fallout has seen market carnage across the globe with trillions of dollars being wiped off stock prices, plunging businesses into chaos.
“Trump’s actions, in essence, amount to declaring war on China,” an influential WeChat blog, written under the pseudonym Chairman Rabbit or Ren Yi, pointed out.
His comments were based on unidentified, “well-connected sources,” according to a Pekingnology newsletter published on Substack on Tuesday.
[Washington’s] threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake.
China’s Ministry of Commerce
By the numbers:
- Trump has warned he would impose additional 50% tariffs on Chinese exports entering the US, taking duties above an eye-watering 100%.
- The new taxes would come into effect in the next few days after Beijing responded with 34% ‘reciprocal’ duties that the US unveiled last week.
Delve deeper: “[Washington’s] threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake, once again exposing the American side’s blackmailing nature. If the US insists on having its way, China will fight to the end,” the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing stated.
Between the lines: State-run Global Times went even further. “No one can stop China’s development, [while] China-US economic and trade cooperation aligns with the will of the people,” it said on Tuesday. Really? Not according to Trump.
Big picture: Still, Intelligence Online has reported that senior officials from the ruling Communist Party have been “holding closed-door meetings with international CEOs.” They have also “attended confidential briefings.”
China Factor comment: Trump’s March madness continues as we enter the second week of April with the risks of a global recession looming in the background.