Is there a ‘silver lining' for China in the tariff war with the US?
Donald Trump's trade war may be a threat to China's economy, but it may also offer a chance to improve relations with Europe and its neighbours in Asia, as well as 'rehabilitating' its image internationally, according to analysts.
Advertisement
Beijing has already started working to improve relations with these countries and forge alternative trade agreements and partnerships.
'The silver lining of the escalating tension between China and the United States could be that the rest of the world gets tighter together, and ties between Europe and China; Japan, [South] Korea, China; and also Southeast Asia and China, might become closer,' said Tommy Wu, senior China economist at Commerzbank.
Washington has imposed tariffs totalling 145 per cent on Chinese imports so far this year, bringing the effective tariff rate to about 156 per cent. According to a fact sheet released by the White House on Tuesday, China now faces tariffs of up to 245 per cent, once tariffs imposed before his second term began are included.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, Beijing's new levies on US goods have risen to 125 per cent, again on top of earlier tariffs.
Describing the escalating trade war as an attempt to suppress China that threatens the country's development, Zhu Feng, a professor of international affairs at Nanjing University, said Trump's aggressive approach to China 'is an opportunity because there is a stark contrast between Trump's America and President Xi Jinping's China today'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China and Russia's nuclear vow, Trump's ‘Golden Dome': 7 US-China relations reads
We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing 1. His Asian-American ancestor defined birthright citizenship. He fights to save it Illustration: Henry Wong Few Americans knew of Norman Wong, a 75-year-old retired carpenter living quietly in Brentwood, California, until a presidential executive order transformed him into an unlikely symbol of a new national battle over a core constitutional issue: who is an American? Advertisement Read the full story here. 2. China's 2019 fentanyl embargo led to drop in US overdoses, study finds Photo: TNS US President Donald Trump angered Beijing when he cited China's involvement in the fentanyl trade as the reason for imposing tariffs in February. But new research indicates that cooperation between the two nations to crack down on the drug's trafficking can disrupt its supply chain and reduce overdose deaths. Read the full story here. 3. Senior US Democrat slams 'horrible' reversal of AI rule as helping China Photo: Reuters A senior US congressional Democrat influential on China and tech policy criticised US President Donald Trump's administration for its rescission of an AI diffusion rule, calling the move a 'horrible idea' that would ultimately benefit China.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
EU may speed up retaliatory tariffs over US duties
The European Union is preparing for another round of trade talks with the US and warned that it may speed up retaliatory measures if President Donald Trump follows through on his tariff threats, the latest of which includes a 50 per cent levy on steel and aluminium imports. Advertisement The European Commission, which handles trade matters for the EU, said Monday it 'strongly' regrets the tariff hike – up from an originally planned 25 per cent – and said the move is undermining efforts to reach a solution to the trade conflict. The EU's trade chief, Maros Sefcovic, will meet with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Wednesday in Paris and a team from the commission is on its way to Washington to continue technical talks, Commission Spokesman Olof Gill told reporters in Brussels on Monday. 'If no mutually acceptable solution is reached, both the existing and possible additional EU countermeasures will automatically take effect on July 14 or earlier if circumstances require,' Gill said. 'The commission has been clear at all times about its readiness to act in defence of EU interests, protecting our workers, consumers and industry.' Flags prior to an EU-US summit at the European Union headquarters in Brussels in 2021. Photo: AFP The EU is trying to fast track negotiations with the US before a July 9 deadline, when Trump said he will hit nearly all of the bloc's imports with a 50 per cent tariff.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
US efforts to coerce China into trade concessions ‘will not work', analysts say
US President Donald Trump's attempts to force Beijing back to the negotiating table by piling 'extreme pressure' on the Chinese economy through a barrage of export controls are doomed to fail, analysts said. Washington has unveiled new curbs on the sale of jet engine and chip design technologies to China in recent days, as Trump insisted in a social media post that he would no longer be 'Mr Nice Guy' on trade. But Beijing responded with a stinging rebuke on Monday, with the Ministry of Commerce rejecting accusations that China had violated the trade deal agreed in Geneva last month. 'The United States keeps initiating trade frictions unilaterally that lead to uncertainties in the bilateral relationship,' the ministry said in a statement, adding that Washington was 'gravely deviating from the truth' in its remarks. 'China is holding to its responsibility to seriously and strictly follow up and proactively maintain the consensus after the Geneva talks with determination and integrity,' the ministry said. Tensions between the world's two biggest economies have flared up once more over the implementation of the Geneva deal, which saw the US and China agree to drastically scale back tariffs on each other's goods for 90 days.
