"Derisk, diversify, and redirect trade" — a mantra once aimed at China’s expanding grip on global trade — is now being applied to the United States. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, currently totalling a staggering 145% on Chinese-made goods, have sent shockwaves through financial markets from Sydney to Sao Paolo.

Capital Economics warned late Thursday that unless the tariffs are rolled back, China's exports to the US would plummet by more than half in the coming years, cutting Chinese economic growth by up to 1.5%. Many Chinese goods are made specifically for the American market, so economists worry that China will struggle to redirect those products to domestic consumers.

As well as raising its tariff on the US to 125% by Friday, Beijing is now rethinking its export strategy to prioritize other global trade partners to help soften the blow of diminishing exports to the world's largest economy.

Earlier this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to deepen "all-round cooperation" with China's neighbors and on Friday urged the European Union to join hands with Beijing in resisting "unilateral bullying" by Washington.

Diana Choyleva, founder and chief economist at Enodo Economics, a London-based research house focusing on China, believes Beijing will look to boost exports with regional neighbors, some of whom it has historically had strained relations.

"The recent revival of Beijing’s economic dialogues with Japan — their first in six years — and South Korea suggests regional powers are reassessing relationships in response to American uncertainty," Choyleva told DW. "While Seoul denied Chinese state media claims of a 'joint response' to tariffs, the mere renewal of trilateral economic cooperation after years of........

© Deutsche Welle