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.

Latest News
News
China Opinion
Police officers trying to push back a pro-Trump mob attempting to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. America is deeply polarised, and the coming presidential election is unlikely to mend its fractured social fabric. Photo: Getty Images
China Opinion
Opinion|America’s sick obsession with China will ruin itself and the world
The US fixation on a China threat distracts it from its serious domestic challenges and holds the world back from addressing critical challenges, from climate change and wars to AI risks.
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Illustration: Stephen Case
China Opinion
Opinion|US foreign policy is hobbled by an obsession with winning against China
As long as the US misreads the strategic landscape and assumes ideological superiority, policy recommendations made on this basis will miss the mark. Reductionist thinking that is a relic of the post-World War II era will only create a dangerous environment for American interests and the world.
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Illustration: Stephen Case
China Opinion
Opinion|Amid titanic US-China clash, Europe must make its own plans quickly
While the US and China settle in for a drawn-out economic war, Europe is unlikely to have the luxury of toughing it out. China makes the goods and the US has the dollar, where does that leave Europe?
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An LCD monitoring line at a workshop in Ruichang, in central China’s Jiangxi province, on February 26. Photo: AFP
China Opinion
Opinion|As world erects barriers against Chinese exports, what about free trade?
Slamming China for capitalising on its manufacturing advantages to produce competitively priced exports is hypocritical and against the principles of free trade.
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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visits the Guozijian Hutong Alley with US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns in Beijing on Monday. Photo: Reuters
Global Economy
How far did Janet Yellen’s trip move the ball for US-China relations?
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ended her week-long trip to China on Tuesday, saying the US had been able to ‘move the ball’ on key issues, while analysts said the visit had focused on ‘practical short-term issues’.
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Illustration: Stephen Case
China Opinion
Opinion|First Japan, then China: guess why the US is worried about ‘overcapacity’
Washington’s concerns about the impact of China’s excess production on American firms are clearly more political than economic. It’s the US market’s high prices that hinder widespread EV adoption, but American sentiment on competing economies is what counts in an election year.
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US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen attends a press conference at the US ambassador’s residence in Beijing on Monday. Photo: AFP
Global Economy
Yellen in China: ‘difficult conversations’, overcapacity spat add to tensions
US Treasury secretary says Beijing needs to make policy changes, while warning that Washington and its allies fear ‘global spillovers’ from China’s trade actions.
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Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, seen here in March, reassured Chinese manufacturers in Paris on Sunday that Beijing has their back. Photo: Reuters
China Economy
As Yellen slams China’s EV overcapacity, minister calls such claims ‘groundless’
Speaking in Paris to Chinese makers of electric vehicles and lithium batteries, commerce chief Wang Wentao vows Beijing will ‘fully support and defend’ their rights as Western pressure mounts.
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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (left) meets Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Sunday. Photo: via Reuters
China Economy
China’s Li Qiang dismisses ‘overcapacity’ concerns in talks with Janet Yellen
Premier Li urges Washington to view industrial capacity ‘objectively’ during meeting with visiting US Treasury Secretary Yellen, who raised issue of excessive Chinese exports, especially new energy vehicles and solar panels.
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Illustration: Henry Wong
China
Expatriate Chinese entrepreneurs find a new gold rush destination in Mexico
Seeking economic opportunity, Chinese merchants build bustling wholesale markets, sell Made in China goods and deal with occasional resistance from Mexican vendors.
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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks to reporters after a second round of talks with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, in Guangzhou on Saturday. Photo: AFP
Diplomacy
US, China to talk more on ‘overcapacity’: Treasury chief Yellen in Guangzhou
Second day of talks with Vice-Premier He Lifeng precedes trip to Beijing for meetings with senior officials including premier and central bank head.
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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
China
Chinese manufacturers in Mexico tread on thin ice amid threat of US barriers
Washington fears that Chinese cars may be able to come over the southern border with zero tariffs under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
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China’s commerce vice-minister Wang Shouwen. Photo: Reuters
Diplomacy
China trade delegation chief raises US restrictions at Washington meeting
First talks for China-US trade working group occur days after Xi, Biden review progress on summit agreement to improve communications.
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EU and US officials hope to further cooperation on tech and trade stances to counter China. Image: Shutterstock
Diplomacy
EU and US seek trade and tech alignments that might survive Trump’s return
Trade and Technology Council meeting, which begins Thursday, aims for agreements that would remain attractive to the former US president, should he be re-elected.
China’s place in global trade is changing rapidly as a result of US-led restrictions and efforts towards a broader decoupling. Photo: AFP
Global Economy
Supply chain shifts, US curbs prompt calls for rethink of China’s trade strategy
Observers and business figures are seeing changes in global supply chains as the US’ trade restrictions begin to have an effect – and think China needs to readjust its game plan to respond to these shifts appropriately.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping, centre, walks with representatives from US business, strategic and academic communities at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 27. Xi promised the delegation more policy support to improve the business environment. Photo: Xinhua via AP
Diplomacy
China-US relations: state media backs Xi Jinping in call for ‘brighter future’
Xinhua’s conciliatory editorial line is in sharp contrast to its accusation just weeks earlier that the US had a ‘friend or foe’ mindset that would lead nowhere.
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The US has said it will target overcpacity in the Chinese solar power industry. Photo: Bloomberg
Diplomacy
Chinese solar power industry urged to stay united in face of US pressure
Industry body says companies should avoid ‘disorderly and vicious’ competition as US pushes to avoid overcapacity,
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The cargo vessel Dali lies under a toppled section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE
China
Explainer|The Baltimore bridge collapse and its impact on global trade
Wreckage shuts down ninth largest harbour in the US and a vital link to China, which a leading consumer of coal shipped through the port.
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US-China people-to-people exchanges should be increased, scholars at a Washington think tank said on Thursday. Photo: Shutterstock
Diplomacy
Americans studying in China are safe despite US travel advisory, scholars say
The State Department is urged to clarify its advisory for China and explain who exactly is at risk, since ‘they don’t tend to be students or scholars’.
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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is likely to bring up China’s excess capacity in industries like electric vehicles and lithium batteries during her upcoming visit. Photo: Xinhua
Global Economy
Current affairs: sparks fly between China, US over EVs before Janet Yellen visit
As more details emerge related to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s coming trip to China, signs indicate excess capacity in sectors like electric vehicles will be a major sticking point in trade discussions.
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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Comment
Opinion|Sinophobia in the US is off the rails and blocking paths to progress
Myths and exaggerated claims about China are pervasive in American political discourse, with growing fears about technology and trade. Instead of reflecting on how to improve as a country, US politicians blame China for political expediency but risk inciting accidental conflict
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Washington has asked third countries with US business interests to avoid selling sensitive tech-related gear to China, including in the chips sector. Photo: Shutterstock
Global Economy
China asks Netherlands, with world-leading chipmaking equipment, to not decouple
Washington has asked countries with US business interests to avoid selling sensitive tech-related gear to China, and analysts say it would take China a while to develop its own advanced chips industry.
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Da Wei, director of the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, says political leaders and a political will are key to stabilising relations between world powers. Photo: Tsinghua University
Diplomacy
Powers urged to keep ‘finger-pointing and scapegoating’ in check for stability
Chinese scholar Da Wei tells Beijing forum recent deterioration in major power relations are ‘very difficult times’.
Illustration: Craig Stephens
China Opinion
Opinion|Imagine a world free from the oppression of a US-led global order
It would spell the end of the US ability to impose its will on the international community, shape other countries in its image and shift the burden of its economic crisis onto others.
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China’s electric vehicle industry is poised to be world-leading, but trade curbs from the US and EU could stifle expansion. Photo: Bloomberg
Global Economy
Sparks fly at WTO over EV subsidies as China files complaint against US
China has lodged a grievance against US electric vehicle subsidies at the World Trade Organization, alleging ‘discrimination’ in selective treatment for products depending on the venue of their final assembly.
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Former Chinese trade official Long Yongtu speaks at the Boao Forum for Asia on Tuesday. He accused Washington of “dismantling the system” of trade that it helped build. Photo: Getty Images
Global Economy
Chinese ex-trade official slams US for ‘dismantling’ global trade
Long Yongtu tells the Boao Forum for Asia that ‘globalised economic and trade systems are at stake’, and targeting Chinese companies in Mexico would mean higher prices for Americans.
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US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen is seen during her visit to Beijing in July. She is scheduled to return to China in early April. Photo: Reuters
Global Economy
On return trip to China, Treasury head Janet Yellen to hear US firms: sources
Before heading to Beijing next month, Yellen will be briefed in Guangzhou on the American business community’s concerns, including overcapacity issues, ahead of the US presidential election.
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Robotic arms are seen at a factory in China’s Shenzhen, which saw a big rise in exports to kick off the year. Photo: AP
Global Economy
Amid tech war, this southern Chinese hub sees its sales to US swell by 62%
The first two months of 2024 were lucrative for the southern tech hub even as some of its biggest private players and industry champions remain under sanctions imposed by Washington.
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Opinion
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
Outside In|Desperately seeking cooperation amid global mega threats and ‘polycrisis’
With prospects of a Trump 2.0 looming, the WTO zombified and experts warning of mega threats and a ‘polycrisis’, the absence of cooperation makes one fear the worst.
David Dodwell
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Outside In|Shining a light on the dark forces of industrial policies
With industrial policy interventions growing, the transparency provided by a new global tracker will enable organisations like the IMF and WTO to distinguish between the good and bad.
David Dodwell
Macroscope|Waging East-West trade war is blinding world to real dynamics at work
While certain countries are trying to entrench the current world order, there is a vast transition taking place that will alter the global balance of power and efforts to stop it are akin to putting a finger in the proverbial dyke.
Anthony Rowley
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Outside In|The US is making too big a deal over small Chinese parcels
Alleging slave labour and drugs smuggling, some American senators are zoning in on how the country’s de minimis rule benefits Chinese companies. But levying duties on low-value shipments will only punish consumers and small businesses.
David Dodwell
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The View|Why China’s economy will continue to grow
While there are issues to be dealt with, the fundamentals of China’s economy are still sound, the government has ample room to adapt policies and the country’s industrial development will see it through the current property sector downturn and demographic headwinds.
Weijian Shan
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Editorial|Xi-Biden talks open the door to more constructive ties that will benefit the world
The leaders of China and the US may not have agreed on everything, but clearly both were certain about one thing: lines of communication must be kept open at all times.
SCMP Editorial
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