President Donald Trump and Nationwide President Xi Jinping are in the early stages of a major trade showdown, with each leader equipped with enough ammunition to inflict serious pain on his enemy.

China is one of the only countries to retaliate against Trump’s “liberation day” taxation, with the Trump administration increasing the fees for US goods to 125% while imposing a 145% obligation on Chinese goods. The two biggest economies in the world have the ability to inflict considerable economic pain on the other, and neither side appears to be eager to flash first. However, experts who spoke to the Daily Call News Foundation agree that the US is likely to cause more economic damage than China does to the US.

“All in the face, whether it’s a wobble of the opposition parties, the Republican coalition, or the various parts of the international community, business and Wall Street, many people were basically willing to hedge or wager against America, and thought China was with the cards.” “At least for now, I think Trump is proof that America has the cards.”

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In the US The most powerful Consumer markets in all countries around the world, and China dependence As for exports, this means that the economy will likely suffer if the Trump administration actually enforces mammoth tariffs on Chinese goods. On the other side of the ledger, ownership of China’s US debt; Domination Of the minerals needed to produce advanced military equipment, the proven ability to avoid US trade enforcement, particularly the potential advantages to deploy against the US, if chosen by Chinese leaders. (Related: Scott Bescent reminds China, where the US needs access to far more markets than it needs to access the economy)

“People can debate whether Trump has played his cards so far,” Yates told DCNF. “He needs to play better over the long term, but there are more countries willing to improve the terms of trade, investment and manufacturing with the US, and I think that excessive reliance on China has not been trying to achieve policy memos and speeches, accelerating to secure sharing among more trustworthy partners.”

That’s what Chinese officials are It is reportedly While they reach out to other countries to try and put together a united front against the Trump trade agenda, others may not be keen to ride China, given that countries that initially did not retaliate against the US have seen mutual tariff rates pending. Moreover, the Chinese economy was already in danger before the start of the trade war due to the remaining effects of long slump in the major real estate sectors, increased debt burdens and long-term demographic imbalances that could withstand. According to To the New York Times.

China may struggle to find other aspiring buyers of cheap goods that are effectively trying to get out of the market as other countries may not be eager to dump Chinese products at the expense of their producers. Even if China together covers a coalition of aspiring buyers against the Trump administration, they may struggle to offset the damage caused to producers by Trump’s move in order to limit access to American consumers.

Treasury Department Scott Bescent also did not rule out Chinese companies from the U.S. stock exchange on Wednesday. Interview Using Fox Business Network.

The White House is confident that the US is embarking on a trade war from a strength standpoint compared to China.

“President Trump is trying to undermine the economy and the people while playing chess, while the Chinese play the checker,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields said in a statement to the DCNF. “The President has made it clear that the era in which China is using our workers and the economy is over, and his decisive action will hold China accountable except that they come to their senses and join President Trump in his efforts to make trade more free and fair.”

Gordon Chang, a well-known senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, believes the US has clear advantages over China as trade wars form.

“President Trump points to how trajectory with Xi Jinping, who only has pea shooters targeting Trump,” Chan said in a DCNF statement. “So can a Chinese dictator win the US president? There’s only one way. I’ll convince Trump to surrender preemptively. XI is trying to put pressure on the president in an attempt to win Wall Street, Main Street and C-Sweets.”

“You’re going to pay that duties.”

Trump administration schedule The import exemptions that are valid will be effectively closed in early May. The exemption allows shipments of items under $800 to enter US tax exemptions, but some Republicans say defendant China abused its loophole at the US disadvantage.

According to Derek Scissor, an Asia-centric economist at the American Institute of Enterprises (AEI), policies need to actually enforce tariffs on Chinese products in order for them to pressure China in a meaningful way. Otherwise, Chinese companies will only route production elsewhere to avoid higher obligations and pay a rate similar to the premiums the Trump administration charges most others to access the U.S. consumer market, Scissami explained.

“If the administration doesn’t enforce the transportation rules that it wasn’t going to in its first period, the Chinese pay 10%. This is what everyone else is paying for. So, what’s important here is that if you actually want to bear Chinese people, you don’t say 54%, 79%, 104%, 125%. “The important thing is, ‘We’re going to provide enough resources for customs and border patrols, they’re going to find out which goods are Chinese, you’re going to pay that tariff and you won’t be able to escape it.” They are also going to take away the exception to DE Minimis that is supposed to happen next month, but we are not ready to do it from a process perspective. (Related: China’s trade surplus soars to a record nearly 1 trillion dollars before Trump’s return)

Senator Eric Schmitt: “China needs to be treated differently. China is the most unfair place in the world.” pic.twitter.com/lpzjzy92l5

– Daily Caller (@dailycaller) April 9, 2025

China has Debt issue It owns a large amount of US debt in itself, and some fear that the US is in a vulnerable position if Chinese authorities decide to put that debt down to the market.

China owns approximately $787 billion in US Treasury debt, making it the second-largest foreign owner of US debt behind Japan. According to To Reuters. While some analysts are concerned that China could abandon its holdings to weaken the dollar and increase the cost of capital within the US, Scissors argues that China’s holdings do not provide much leverage because the amount of debt funding the US is so large.

“China’s share of US funding is small because the US funding requirements are so large. That’s not a source of China’s leverage,” Hassers told the Daily Carener News Foundation. “I know people are talking about it all the time. This isn’t important.”

China’s US debt ownership may not be as strong as leverage points that some would do, but there are still other options to increase pressure on Trump. For starters, China controls several key supply chains, including the critical minerals needed to produce advanced military equipment, such as specific missiles and systems for fighter jets. According to To the US military.

Furthermore, the US currently relies on China to meet its drug needs. The US sources approximately 97% of its antibiotics, 95% of ibuprofen and 70% of acetaminophen directly or indirectly from AEI, a Chinese supplier I wrote it August 2024.

Chinese regulators can initiate inquiries to American entities, limit their ability to sell in the Chinese market, and simply prohibit American companies from providing consulting, legal, financial or other services in the Chinese market. According to To Baron. If China’s leaders feel cornered as the situation develops, they can also retaliate with uneconomical behavior. According to scissors, the Chinese military was able to move Taiwan, burn Iran, stir up North Korea’s troubles and stir up North Korea’s troubles.

Furthermore, China’s authoritarian governance system provides the flexibility and ability to play long games that the US government doesn’t have, unlike the Chinese system, because the Chinese administration is sensitive to the will of American voters, Hassaas explained. Republicans need to defend the legislative majority in 2026. And some Republicans in Congress are already worried about the president’s massive, unlegislative tariffs. And there is no guarantee that Republicans will have Republicans in 2029 with the desire to take China away.

“There’s clearly a lot of motivation on the side of Communist Party and Chinese dictator XI Jinping, ahead of the economy,” Hassaas told DCNF. “In the US, there’s real competition. If you put politics ahead of economics, you can pay the price. You can lose your local elections. People think the party is in trouble. They end up losing their homes.

For now, neither side appears to be ready to flash immediately. “China will realize that the era of ripping the US and other countries is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” Trump wrote on Wednesday. post Chinese government announces 90-day suspension for other countries swear “Fight to the end.”

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