China is playing the long game to win its war with Trump
The strategy appears to be working — for now. On Monday, Washington granted Beijing another 90-day reprieve, extending a pause on tariffs through November 10. China announced it would do the same. Markets welcomed the move, which offered some relief after months of tension. The delay will give Chinese President Xi Jinping's policymakers more time to plan their next move.
Time is Xi's ally. So far, the clearest outcome of each round of talks has been a commitment to meet again. Despite Trump's insistence that China has taken significant steps to improve their trade relationship, Beijing has made no consequential concessions on any of his key concerns. (China has offered some small compromises, none on the scale of American demands.)
The extension has come at a delicate time for China's economy, which is plagued by sluggish domestic demand and a slowdown in the property sector. Bloomberg Economics says that it is among the few major nations without a clear timeline or terms for a deal, while others have struck agreements to secure lower tariffs. Even with this reprieve, it notes, Beijing faces average US tariffs of 40 per cent — almost 25 percentage points above the global average.
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This will hurt prospects for Chinese citizens, who have enjoyed more than three decades of near double-digit growth. The economy expanded by 5.2 per cent in April-June from a year earlier — enviable by global standards — but anxieties among the once-thriving middle class over the future for their children are rising. Youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, with joblessness at 14.5 per cent in June. That figure improved in recent months, but analysts point to significant challenges: More than 12 million university students are set to graduate with hopes of joining the workforce.
Still, China is betting that despite these economic costs, it can fight this trade war to the end.
Politically, Beijing is preparing the population for a long battle. State media editorials have lauded a Mao-era philosophy as a possible strategy to counter US pressure. They reference the former Chinese leader's 1938 essay ' On Protracted War ', which laid out his approach to combating the invading Japanese between 1937 and 1945.
During a series of lectures in May and June 1938, Mao spoke of how the 'contest of strength is not only a contest of military and economic power, but also a contest of human power and morale'. Scholars say the idea was to alert his fellow citizens that the war would be long and gruelling, but could be won through endurance and unity.
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Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. Israel's military has pounded Gaza City before a planned takeover, with another 123 people killed in the past day, according to the Gaza health ministry, while militant group Hamas holds further talks with Egyptian mediators. The 24-hour death toll was the worst in a week and added to the massive fatalities from the nearly two-year war that has shattered the enclave housing more than two million Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated an idea - also enthusiastically floated by US President Donald Trump - that Palestinians should simply leave. "They're not being pushed out, they'll be allowed to exit," he told Israeli television channel i24NEWS. "All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their gates and stop lecturing us." 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Eight more people, including three children, have died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said. That took the total to 235, including 106 children, since the war began. Israel disputes those malnutrition and hunger figures reported by the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. Hamas chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya's meetings with Egyptian officials in Cairo on Wednesday were to focus on stopping the war, delivering aid and "ending the suffering of our people in Gaza", Hamas official Taher al-Nono said in a statement. Egyptian security sources said the talks would also discuss the possibility of a comprehensive ceasefire that would see Hamas relinquish governance in Gaza and concede its weapons. A Hamas official told Reuters the group was open to all ideas if Israel ended the war and pulled out, but "laying down arms before the occupation is dismissed is impossible". Netanyahu's plan to expand military control over Gaza, which Israeli sources said could be launched in October, has heightened global outcry over the widespread devastation, displacement and hunger in the enclave. Foreign ministers of 24 countries, including Britain, Canada, Australia, France and Japan, said this week the humanitarian crisis in Gaza had reached "unimaginable levels" and urged Israel to allow unrestricted aid. Israel denies responsibility for hunger, accusing Hamas of stealing aid. It says it has taken steps to increase deliveries, including daily combat pauses in some areas and protected routes for aid convoys. The United Nations and Palestinians say aid entering Gaza remains far from sufficient. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.
