US-China Trade War

Battles lines drawn between the world's two largest economies
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Background and explainers on the trade war between China, led by President Xi Jinping, and the United States, and its President Donald Trump. Having started in July 2018, the prolonged conflict reached a turning point in January 2020 with the signing of the phase one trade deal, but not after it had weighed heavily on the global economy for 18 months due to additional import tariffs levied by both China and the US. The US has accused China of unfair trading practices, including intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer, lack of market access for American companies in China and creating an unlevel playing field through state subsidies of Chinese companies. China, meanwhile, believes the US is trying to restrict its rise as a global economic power.

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News
Business
Chinese EV maker Nio has leased nearly 10,000 square metres of space from CTP in Budapest. Photo: CTP
Business
Chinese firms seek European base for factories amid trade tensions, tariffs
European industrial real estate developer CTP expects increased demand from Chinese firms that do not want to get caught in the trade war.
Photo: VCG via Getty Images
Daily Pulse|USTR takes aim at China’s legacy chips
The US has launched a probe into China’s market practices in the production and export of mature semiconductors, leaving it to the Trump administration to determine how to proceed once the investigation is completed.
The US says China seeks to dominate domestic and global chip markets through extensive anticompetitive and non-market means. Photo: Shutterstock
Diplomacy
US launches trade investigation into China’s ‘legacy’ chips
Trade agency say ‘evidence indicates’ that China seeks to dominate domestic and global chip markets.
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Illustration: Craig Stephens
China Opinion
Opinion|China can’t rely on technology as a panacea for economic recovery
As weak consumption hinders economic growth, policymakers must consider improving labour rights and wealth distribution to boost demand.
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US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
United States & Canada
Trump picks Stephen Miran to head Council of Economic Advisers
Former Treasury aide headed for top White House economic job as Trump assembles team for second term.
1
Passengers at Hong Kong International Airport on July 20, a day after a global IT service shortage affected air travel. Cybersecurity threats and extreme weather events are among the global risks that could become more severe in the coming years, contributing to financial woes across borders. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
World Opinion
Opinion|In a world fraught with risk, Trump will add to the bumps
Amid increasing geopolitical uncertainty and trade tensions, investors are counting on the US central bank to keep printing money.
1
Strong growth in Shenzhen’s trade has been buoyed, in part, by rising demand for Chinese electronics and hi-tech products. Photo: EPA-EFE
China Economy
‘Resilient’ trade gains see Shenzhen poised to overtake Shanghai despite US tech siege
Total trade value in city dubbed China’s Silicon Valley surged past 4 trillion yuan from January to November, with a record year-on-year increase.
3
Illustration: Craig Stephens
World Opinion
Opinion|US-China science pact renewal a ray of hope amid techno-nationalism
The pact sustains targeted collaboration, but it also risks reinforcing emerging scientific blocs, potentially reshaping the global research landscape.
1
A TP-Link smart Wi-fi plug. Photo: Matt Haldane
Tech War
US investigates China-founded internet router maker TP-Link
Investigators fear that TP-Link is using ‘the Huawei playbook’, according to people familiar with the probe.
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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Global Economy
Superpower showdown: how US-China economic warfare could play out under Trump
As US president-elect Donald Trump forms his hawk-filled cabinet, what might China do to counter and deflect a barrage of blows?
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A farmer operates a combine during soybean harvesting on the Voss farm near Palo, Iowa, on October 2. Photo: AP
China Opinion
Opinion|China’s ‘Food Silk Road’ holds key to thwarting Trump tariffs
Policymakers in Beijing have taken steps to address supply chain vulnerabilities and the weaponisation of imported food supplies.
3
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Diplomacy
Why China may be less patient with Trump the second time around
Beijing has signalled to the incoming government that it’s prepared to ‘resist and retaliate’, according to analysts.
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Illustration: Craig Stephens
World Opinion
Opinion|Why a Trump economic boom is much less likely this time around
Trump is once again inheriting a strong US economy but the world is more volatile, and US debt and interest rates are much higher.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gave the keynote speech at the Symposium on the International Situation and China’s Foreign Relations in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: AP
Diplomacy
As China predicts more uncertainty in 2025, it urges Trump to make right choices
Foreign Minister Wang Yi vows ‘China will firmly be a force for peace’ while hoping Washington will meet Beijing halfway.
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Farmers harvest soybeans near Palo, Iowa, United States, on October 2, 2024. Photo: AP
China Business
China’s crop import curbs causing soybean shortage
Some soybean crushers in Dongguan in Guangdong province have had to suspend operations for the last three weeks, traders say.
US president-elect Donald Trump speaks at his estate Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday. Photo: AP
Diplomacy
US-China working groups on economy, finance meet as future in doubt under Trump
Dialogue set up last year as Biden and Xi sought to manage bilateral differences could fall off amid anticipated revival of trade war.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and then US president Donald Trump on November 9, 2017, outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo: Tass/Abaca Press/TNS
China Opinion
Opinion|Inauguration invitation to Xi shows Trump’s deal-making in action
The US president-elect’s overture to China’s leader shows he doesn’t want to be as confrontational as his messaging and advisers suggest.
1
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
Global Economy
How China can survive Trump threats, avoid Japan’s mistakes: Zhang Yansheng
Seasoned researcher says Trump’s ‘extremist’ protectionism will isolate US and cede the high ground on multilateralism to China.
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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Asia Opinion
Opinion|Trump 2.0 is forcing Asian economies to make hard choices fast
The stability and prosperity of Asia depends on how regional economic powerhouses navigate complex dynamics while maintaining their autonomy.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) meets Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to the French president, in Beijing on Saturday. Photo: Xinhua
Diplomacy
China-EU trade war a ‘lose-lose’ situation, top diplomat Wang Yi warns
Wang meets French diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne for strategic dialogue that could lay groundwork for visit by Emmanuel Macron.
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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
China
How to gain entrée into Trump’s White House? Beijing is looking for ways
The old ways of making connections and gaining influence aren’t likely to be as reliable in the coming, unpredictable administration.
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Mexican authorities raid the Plaza Izazaga 89 shopping centre on November 28. Photo: Reuters
Global Economy
Reporter’s note: How a mall in Mexico became a flashpoint in US-China rivalry
The fierce economic competition between the US and China has had many casualties - even a shopping centre in the heart of Mexico City.
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A container is loaded onto a truck at the Port of Los Angeles in the United States on December 3. Photo: EPA-EFE
China Economy
How will Trump tariffs affect small foreign businesses operating in China?
Relocating operations or restructuring supply chains remain costly and complex challenges.
2
The US-China Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement was initially signed in 1979 as the two countries commenced formal diplomatic ties. Photo: Shutterstock
Science
US-China science pact renewed, sparking backlash from some in Trump’s party
Substantial revisions include enhanced inter-agency review, but backlash from some Republicans was swift.
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BYD EVs are parked at Lianyungang port in eastern Jiangsu province for export to Brazil. Photo: Reuters
China EVs
Brazilian ports jammed with 70,000 Chinese EVs as tariffs loom
Chinese carmakers flood the world’s sixth-biggest car market as they try to avoid new tariffs.
China can offset trade curbs by shoring up local demand, economist says
Chinese economist Zhang Yansheng discusses how expanding non-US trade investment and boosting local demand can counteract Trump’s trade curbs.
Then-US President Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019. Photo: AP
Diplomacy
Chinese official praises Trump invitation but does not say if Xi will attend
Trump spokesman confirms inauguration invitation, but Qiu Wenxing of Chinese embassy does not discuss whether Xi Jinping will attend.
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Opinion
Outside In|Does Trump’s tariff-happy team realise China is playing weiqi, not chess?
Much depends on how successfully Trump seduces leaders away from multilateral rule-making and how firmly China resists the siren call of bilateralism.
David Dodwell
3
Opinion|Trump effect already felt as China scrambles to mend ties with US allies
Beijing’s moves to ease tensions with India, Japan and others appear to be part of strategy to avoid clash with Donald Trump’s White House.
Shi Jiangtao
8
Macroscope|As liberal international order crumbles, war could be on the cards
National leaders seem to have forgotten that autarky is incompatible with the high levels of prosperity enjoyed in the post-war era.
Anthony Rowley
15
The View|East Asia’s success shows regional integration key to global competitiveness
The experience of today’s successful economies underscores that competitive advantage emerges not from isolation but from strategic collaboration.
Winston Mok
My Take|How will China fight a new trade war under Trump 2.0?
With hindsight from Trump’s first term, Beijing could adopt a different approach this time around.
SCMP ColumnistZhou Xin
5
Editorial|Hong Kong is counting on innovative investment
The HKIC has funded 80 start-ups and projects. These deals have come at a critical time for the city as it builds itself up as a hi-tech centre.
SCMP Editorial
Editorial|Metals ban by China reminds US two can play at costly game
Action by Beijing follows restrictions on semiconductor exports by Washington ahead of the return of Donald Trump.
SCMP Editorial
3
Outside In|Trump’s destructive impact on world trade could take decades to unravel
The president-elect is doubling down on policies that did not serve the US well during his first term in the White House.
David Dodwell
5
The View|Trump could upend the US economy just as China is recovering
Trump’s economic strategy could change narratives not only about US markets but Chinese ones as well.
Richard Harris
4
Macroscope|Why Germany has more to fear from a second Trump term than China
A widening trade war would further destabilise Europe’s largest economy as it struggles with stagnation, declining exports and geopolitical tensions.
Nicholas Spiro
3
Editorial|Torch of international cooperation to burn despite Trump return
China’s President Xi Jinping along with leaders at the Apec and G20 summits make it clear multilateralism is still the way to go.
SCMP Editorial
1
Macroscope|China won’t be the only Asian economy in Trump’s sights
Expect trade tensions to intensify dramatically at a time when many Asian economies, including China, are relying on exports to boost growth.
Nicholas Spiro
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