In trade war with the US, China holds a lot more cards than Trump may think − in fact, it might have a winning hand. Really!

This article is written by a "Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science, Auburn University" [Alabama] with a Chinese sounding name, i.e. Linggong Kong. He calls himself  "an expert on U.S.-China relations"

Is the author a darling and a mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China at a U.S. university? You bet! The language used by this Ph.D. student clearly identifies him as steeped in socialist rhetoric! His arguments are not very convincing!

"He who laughs last? Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump are engaged in a tariff standoff." (Label under image at the beginning of this article)

"... But the U.S. president may well have been smarting from Beijing’s apparent willingness to confront U.S. tariffs head on. ...

While many countries opted not to retaliate against Trump’s now-delayed reciprocal tariff hikes, instead favoring negotiation and dialogue, Beijing took a different tack. It responded with swift and firm countermeasures. ...

And as an expert on U.S.-China relations, I wouldn’t expect China to. Unlike the first U.S.-China trade war during Trump’s initial term, when Beijing eagerly sought to negotiate with the U.S., China now holds far more leverage.

Indeed, Beijing believes it can inflict at least as much damage on the U.S. as vice versa, while at the same time expanding its global position. ...

Crucially, the importance of the U.S. market to China’s export-driven economy has declined significantly. In 2018, at the start of the first trade war, U.S.-bound exports accounted for 19.8% of China’s total exports. In 2023, that figure had fallen to 12.8%. The tariffs may further prompt China to accelerate its “domestic demand expansion” strategy, unleashing the spending power of its consumers and strengthening its domestic economy.

And while China entered the 2018 trade war in a phase of strong economic growth, the current situation is quite different. Sluggish real estate markets, capital flight and Western “decoupling” have pushed the Chinese economy into a period of persistent slowdown.

Perhaps counterintuitively [???], this prolonged downturn may have made the Chinese economy more resilient to shocks [???]. ...

Trump’s tariff policy against China may also allow Beijing a useful external scapegoat, allowing it to rally public sentiment and shift blame for the economic slowdown onto U.S. aggression [???]. ..."

In trade war with the US, China holds a lot more cards than Trump may think − in fact, it might have a winning hand

A Chinese communist agitator at a U.S. university? Do we need to deport him? Maybe not! 😊 Voltaire: “I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write.”