The results of Trump’s tariff war against China are effectively out. While the narrative underpinning the tariff war was designed to comfort Western audiences, the tariff war’s failure is unlikely to be reassuring.

The Largest Trade Surplus in Economic History

The Economist argued that China produced excess products, which it sold at low prices locally, and could only make a profit by exporting to Western markets, which created vulnerability. Citing solar panels and Lithium batteries, the media concluded that restrictions on selling these products in Western markets would destabilize the Chinese economy. This view, which was also held by top Western policymakers, including Steve Bessent (as will be seen later), informed Trump’s tariff war. Movers of the trade war believed their tariffs would destabilize China and force it to capitulate to Western Economic domination. However, China’s clinching historic trade surplus despite months of Trump’s Tariff war shows that its manufacturers were profitable and could thrive despite Western restrictions.

Bessent’s Story of Two Imbalanced Economies

The personification of the intellect driving Trump’s tariff wars has been Steve Bessent, the US Secretary of the Treasury, who, after negotiations with the Chinese delegation in May 2025 in Switzerland, stated that China’s economy suffered from “excess” manufacturing capacity and that the US economy was imbalanced due to its large financial side. Bessent, tried to mask the irresponsible financial habits of the US, including quantitative easing, monetizing debts, and imputing figures in its economic calculations as just an imbalance. At the time of these negotiations, the US had slapped over 100% import tariffs on Chinese products and was forcing Western........

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