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
World Opinion
President Joe Biden speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on May 14, announcing plans to impose major new tariffs on electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies imported from China. Photo: AP
World Opinion
Opinion|Financial Armageddon: the world just can’t afford an endless US-China trade war
Those who curb real trade and expand financial sanctions don’t seem to understand the likeliness of a destructive outcome for all. The West is wrecking the foundations of its prosperity.
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US tariffs on imports on electric vehicles from China are set to increase from 25 per cent to 100 per cent this year. Photo: TNS
Global Economy
Explainer|From EVs to face masks, how key are the 14 Chinese items on the US tariff list?
The US announced plans on Tuesday to increase tariffs on 14 categories of products from China under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, covering US$18 billion in imports.
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Television screens airing a presidential debate Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Photo: Getty Images
Global Economy
Be it Trump or Biden at the US helm, China steels itself for political crossfire
Analysts say Beijing is preparing ‘for all types of situations’ in a trade war with the US that shows no sign of abating after six years, as the leading presidential candidates vow to turn up the heat.
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Steel coils are pictured in an iron and steel plant in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Photo: Xinhua
South Asia
India steel mills ‘vulnerable’ to surge in cheaper China imports after US tariffs
Weak steel demand at home has encouraged China, the world’s biggest producer of the alloy, to offload its surplus stocks by offering competitive rates to Indian buyers, hurting Indian producers.
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Washington has proposed that tariffs on China-made electric vehicles be increased to 100 per cent this year. Photo: Bloomberg
Global Economy
What’s the real impact of fresh US tariffs on China, and what happens next?
Analysts discuss how Beijing could respond to Washington’s latest trade offensive, and how the impact could have repercussions beyond China’s borders.
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Vietnam’s Vuong Dinh Hue (left) meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on April 8. Weeks later, Hue was removed as chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam, putting a dent in rare earth negotiations. Photo: EPA-EFE/Xinhua
Asia Opinion
Opinion|Vietnam’s Catch-22 in courting China as a rare earth partner
In many ways, China is the perfect partner for Hanoi’s rare earth processing industry ambitions. But standing in the way is Vietnam’s wariness of corporate exploitation and taking sides in the US-China rivalry, as well as its political turmoil.
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World
US-China trade war heats up with fresh tariffs
US President Joe Biden at a Rose Garden event at the White House on Tuesday, signing an order imposing major new tariffs on electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies imported from China. Photo: AP
Diplomacy
Biden says new tariffs will protect US industries from firms subsidised by China
US President Joe Biden also gives his action a political edge, criticising Donald Trump, his predecessor and challenger for re-election, for failing to increase US exports and boost manufacturing.
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Yang Jiemian, chairman of the SIIS Academic Advisory Council, speaks at the Global Prosperity Summit in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Photo: Elson Li
Diplomacy
Beijing ‘prepared for rainy days’ if Trump is re-elected, academic says
China should also ‘prepare for the worst’ but ‘do its best’ in response to further trade and tech frictions, Yang Jiemian tells summit in Hong Kong.
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US President Joe Biden has taken steps to raise tariffs on Chinese goods. Photo: AFP
China Economy
Beijing hits back as US proposes tariffs on China goods for ‘unfair’ policies
Tariffs would rise to 100 per cent from 27.5 per cent on China-made electric vehicles (EVs) and to 50 per cent on its semiconductors and solar cells.
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Export-bound BYD electric cars waiting to be loaded onto a ship at a port in Yantai in eastern Shandong province. Photo: AFP
China Business
China EVs: punitive US tariffs to hurt market access, undermine export drive
Prohibitive tariffs await Made in China electric vehicles bound for the US. Can the nation’s producers keep growing their sales and brand awareness without making inroads into the US and European markets?
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An aerial view of a tractor harvesting soybeans in Deerfield, Ohio, US, on October 7, 2021. Photo: Reuters
China Business
Flood of China’s used cooking oil spurs call to hike US levies
US imports of used cooking oil more than tripled in 2023, with more than half coming from China, according to the US International Trade Commission.
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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Global Economy
China’s EV overcapacity may set it on a political collision course with the US
Fresh US tariffs targeting China’s new-energy sector are imminent, threatening to thwart export efforts aimed at alleviating a market oversupply.
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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday. Photo: Bloomberg
United States & Canada
‘Significant’ Chinese response to US tariffs possible: Janet Yellen
The United States is reportedly planning to raise tariffs on Chinese clean energy goods such as electric vehicles, batteries and solar products, with an announcement expected this week.
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A Zeekr electric car at the Spring Auto Show in Yantai, China. The company debuted at the NYSE on Friday, but its cars are not likely to be sold in the US given steep tariffs. Photo: Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Daily Pulse|US prepares to sharply raise tariffs on Chinese new-energy goods
The administration of US President Joe Biden will reportedly soon roughly quadruple tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and sharply raise tariffs on other goods. The plans would be a dramatic move to counter perceived excess production capacity in China in a US election year.
Indonesia’s incoming leader Prabowo Subianto wants to continue his country open foreign policy approach, and not choose sides in the US-China row. Photo: AFP
Southeast Asia
‘Friends with all countries’: Indonesia’s Prabowo won’t take sides in US-China row
Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto’s comments come amid a protracted US-China trade war that’s heightened as the Biden administration is set to quadruple tariffs on Chinese EVs.
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US tariffs on China’s EV exports have prevented those producers from gaining a foothold in the American market. Photo: Getty Images
Politics
‘Hyped up’: People’s Daily slams US overcapacity claims as fresh EV tariffs loom
Opinion piece in Communist Party mouthpiece comes as multiple US media reports say higher tariffs are imminent on China’s new energy sector.
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Patricia Flor, Germany’s ambassador to China. Photo: German Embassy, Beijing
Diplomacy
Competition, Ukraine, arrests: a conversation with German ambassador to China
Lack of a level playing field is underlying issue of overcapacity, Berlin’s representative in Beijing said, in a wide-ranging interview.
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A vehicle from Chinese automaker BYD is seen charging at the Thailand International Motor Expo 2023. The US is set to hit China EVs with tariffs. Photo: EPA-EFE
United States & Canada
US set to hit China EVs, strategic sectors with tariffs: reports
The US will impose new, elevated tariffs that focus on key industries including electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells, according to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.
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Two white balloons float near the Chinese flag during a demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in Washington in February 2023. Photo: AFP
United States & Canada
Chinese companies hit with US trade restrictions over ‘spy balloon’ incident
Other entities were added to the list for allegedly trying to obtain US quantum technology for China, or for seeking US parts for military drones.
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China is expected to ship 6 million vehicles abroad in 2024, 22 per cent higher than last year’s 4.91 million units. Photo: AFP
China Business
China’s car exports set to soar as EV makers shrug off US, European trade curbs
China’s overseas vehicle shipments are set to grow at a clip this year, bolstered by surging sales in markets like Southeast Asia and the Middle East, as the country’s heft in manufacturing electric cars goes from strength to strength.
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Gantry cranes are seen at dusk at the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals, in Hong Kong, on March 13, 2023. Photo: Bloomberg
Asia Opinion
Opinion|How to protect global free trade from misguided US nationalism
Globalisation didn’t hurt US jobs, contrary to what American politics would have you think. Still, in a fractious era of more trade barriers, economies like Hong Kong can contribute to seamless global trade by adopting digital documentation.
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Visitors walk through the lobby of a solar power company’s headquarters in Hefei, Anhui province. Photo: Bloomberg
China Opinion
Opinion|How progress, not just profit, drives China’s approach to industry
Rather than being out to undermine economies around the world, China’s economic policy is based on foresight, efficiency and commitment to scale. Decoupling would not only disrupt supply chains but increase the cost of the global energy transition amid our ongoing climate struggle.
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Illustration: Stephen Case
China Opinion
Opinion|Delusions of detente: how US-China ties are hurtling towards cold war
While maintaining diplomacy and setting up guard rails, the US is also painting an “axis of evil” narrative and courting allies to isolate China on every front.
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Photo: Handout
Diplomacy
Xi-Biden call, electric ‘beng bengs’: 7 US-China reads you may have missed
Struggling US-China ties, a human rights shock and a student in big trouble: these are the highlights from the SCMP’s overseas correspondents from April 2024.
About 42 per cent of survey respondents said China was an enemy of the US, the largest share since Pew began asking the question in 2021. Illustration: Shutterstock
China
More Americans view China as an enemy, new Pew survey shows
Four out of five people who responded to the poll say their opinion of mainland China is unfavourable, about the same as last year.
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Mexico’s trade with China has increased as US export restrictions have made business there more challenging. Photo: AFP
Global Economy
Should Mexico’s new tariffs sound early warning alarms for China’s exports?
With new tariffs being imposed by Mexico on most Chinese imports, observers and analysts disagree on whether stricter measures are being considered – but most say pressure from the US is at play.
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Opinion
Outside In|The real reason for US’ new anti-China tariffs (and it isn’t unfair trade)
In enacting yet another round of tariffs on Chinese exports, the Biden administration has its sights set firmly on its fortunes in November’s election. The US president has to shore up Democrats’ support in rust belt states and clearly thinks American firms and consumers are ready to pay the price tariffs will bring.
David Dodwell
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Macroscope|As world splits into pro-US and pro-China blocs, watch out for economic warfare
It is starting to look as if the changes in global economic ties will lead not to a hot war but a new ice age where US- and China-aligned blocs coexist in an environment of slow growth and tension
Anthony Rowley
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The View|Why Chinese green tech firms can be transformative for the Global South
As Chinese multinational firms expand their presence internationally, they can reshape global production networks towards the Global South and accelerate the transition to a green economy, helping build a more sustainable future for all.
Winston Mok
Inside Out|Someday soon China might dominate the hydrogen supply chain too
EU and US manufacturers already complaining of Chinese competition in solar power and electric vehicles won’t like China’s hydrogen policy. As it moves to produce hydrogen using renewable energy, this could become an important part of the world’s low-carbon future.
David Dodwell
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The View|Western protectionism will fail – China’s success isn’t down to subsidies
Complaints of Chinese overcapacity and dumping may be useful in justifying US, EU subsidies and trade barriers but China’s success is really due to its innovation and scale.
Andy Xie
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Editorial|All losers after Biden plays China card in attempt to win votes
Latest US protectionist moves targeting Chinese steel and aluminium imports, together with other measures, risk another damaging round of trade war.
SCMP Editorial
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Editorial|Xi-Biden call reflects critical time in push for stable relations
Chinese and American presidents took opportunity to have ‘candid’ and ‘constructive’ conversation against backdrop of testing events in region.
SCMP Editorial
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Macroscope|In the short run, policymakers must fix the world’s equality problems
Updating John Meynard Keynes’ seminal predictions, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva has set out a hopeful scenario for the next century. But the outlook hinges on more sustainable and equitable growth.
Anthony Rowley
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Macroscope|China’s rise as world’s green factory has put West on the back foot
China’s growing dominance in solar panels, electric cars and batteries is putting US and European manufacturers at a disadvantage and is attracting defensive hostility.
Anthony Rowley
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My Take|US economic warfare is a lot more unhinged than its British predecessor
The British Empire pioneered weaponising the global economy, a strategy now deployed with near reckless abandon by its successor, the American empire.
SCMP ColumnistAlex Lo
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Editorial|People exchanges key to healthy relations between China, US
Both countries should take steps to ensure smooth people-to-people exchanges, as future ties will ultimately be in the hands of today’s students.
SCMP Editorial
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The View|Why Trump’s tariff pledge has US businesses and allies on edge
Donald Trump’s pledge of expanded, ‘eye for an eye’ tariffs if he wins the presidency threatens a return to an era of depressed trade and growth. US firms, importers and allies should prepare for the effects of Trump’s possible re-election.
James David Spellman
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