U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent trip to Beijing offers a timely moment to assess the upheaval in U.S. trade relations since the start of his second term in January 2025.

The reciprocal tariffs introduced by the Trump administration in April 2025 jolted the global economy and triggered wide-ranging diplomatic and economic consequences. As negotiations unfolded, countries were forced to confront a central question: What constitutes strategic economic strength and how can it be protected or leveraged?

Japan’s automobile industry, Taiwan’s semiconductor sector and South Korea’s shipbuilding industry quickly emerged as prominent examples.

At the same time, competition between the United States and China has increasingly centered on economic chokepoints. Through tariffs and export controls, each side has tested the other’s vulnerabilities. Two chokepoints now stand out: advanced semiconductors for China and rare-earth minerals for the United States.

Washington’s approach to China has often been described as a “technology gap strategy,” aimed at preventing China from accessing cutting-edge technologies while strengthening domestic innovation and manufacturing to maintain a decisive lead.

Since October 2022, the United States has restricted exports of advanced semiconductors and the equipment needed to produce them. The CHIPS and Science Act has simultaneously supported research and expanded domestic manufacturing capacity.

Under Trump’s second administration, this framework remains largely intact. While preserving the CHIPS Act structure inherited from the Biden administration, Washington has paired it with tariffs designed to attract large-scale foreign investment. The goal is consistent: strengthen domestic capacity, reshore production and expand employment in strategic industries.

Japan, for example, has pledged roughly $550 billion in U.S.........

© The Japan Times