When Donald Trump pulled back on his plan to impose eye-watering tariffs on trading partners across the world, there was one key exception: China.

While the rest of the world would be given a 90-day reprieve on additional duties beyond the new 10 per cent tariffs on all US trade partners, China would feel the squeeze even more. On April 9, 2025, Trump raised the tariff on Chinese goods to 125 per cent.

The move, in Trump’s telling, was prompted by Beijing’s “lack of respect for global markets.” But the US President may well have been smarting from Beijing’s apparent willingness to confront US tariffs head on.

While many countries opted not to retaliate against Trump’s now-delayed reciprocal tariff hikes, instead favouring negotiation and dialogue, Beijing took a different tack. It responded with swift and firm countermeasures. On April 11, China dismissed Trump’s moves as a “joke” and raised its own tariff against the US to 125 per cent.

The two economies are now locked in an all-out, high-intensity trade standoff. And China is showing no signs of backing down.

And as an expert on US-China relations, I wouldn’t expect China to. Unlike the first US-China trade war during Trump’s initial term, when Beijing eagerly sought to negotiate with the US, China now holds far more leverage.

Indeed, Beijing believes it can inflict at least as much damage on the US as vice versa, while at the same time expanding its global position.

Undoubtedly, tariffs will have severe consequences for China’s export-oriented manufacturers, especially those in the coastal regions that produce furniture, clothing, toys, and home appliances for American consumers.

But since Trump first launched a tariff increase on China in 2018, a number........

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