How China can hit back in a long, grinding trade war with the United States
Safety inspections, consumer boycotts and approval delays are just some of the ways that Beijing can respond to action from Washington
The first punches in a trade fight that China did not want have been thrown, and now Chinese President Xi Jinping is poised to match his US counterpart Donald Trump blow for blow.
The next flurry of jabs may be imminent. In his announcement of tariffs on Chinese goods on Friday, Trump vowed additional duties if China retaliated – which Beijing immediately did. An announcement on US restrictions on investments from China will follow in the next two weeks, according to Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
Analysts increasingly expect the confrontation to be a war of attrition as the two sides confront the chasm between them. While China has shown a willingness to make a deal on shrinking its trade surplus with the United States, it has made clear it will not bow to demands to abandon its industrial policy aimed at dominating the technology of the future.
“The Chinese view this as an exercise in self-flagellation, meaning that the country that wins a trade war is the country that can endure most pain,” said Andrew Polk, co-founder of research firm Trivium China in Beijing. “[China] thinks it can outlast the US. They don’t have to worry about an election in November, let alone two years from now.”
