BEIJING, CHINA - NOVEMBER 9: U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a welcoming ceremony with ... More China's President Xi Jinping on November 9, 2017 in Beijing, China. Trump is on a 10-day trip to Asia. (Photo by Thomas Peter-Pool/Getty Images)

The sympathy calls have been coming in. A good part of my audit practice revolves around working with Chinese companies. Friends want to know if I’m “okay” as the Trump administration continues to build its tariff policies around American industry.

The short answer is: I’m more worried about America than China at this point.

A tariff of 145% on Chinese goods (or 245% for autos) may impose significant short-term pain on China’s export sector. It will also require a heroic effort from the government to stimulate Beijing to reach its goal of 5% GDP growth in 2025.

However, the Chinese people have already demonstrated the ability to absorb tremendous pain during the COVID-19 lockdowns and the slump in the real estate and tech sectors that followed. I would argue that your average person living in China is more ready to subsist on rice and bitter melon than your average person living in the U.S. is prepared to pay $3,000 for a made-in-America iPhone.

For Chinese leaders, this is a civilizational struggle over the direction of the 21st century. From this perspective, the Trump administration’s first hundred days almost seem like a playbook to help make China great again.

American universities are the envy of the world. The U.S. is home to eight out of the world’s top 10 universities, according to Times Higher Education. China’s best, Tsinghua University, ranks 12th. These academic institutions generate advances in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, materials science, biomedicine, and other fields that underpin our innovation and economic prosperity. They are magnets for the brightest minds from around the world. In the past month, many of........

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