City BeatHong Kong cannot escape the US-China trade war unscathed
Despite being an independent and free economic entity, the city will not be able to avoid being dragged into this clash of global economic titans
What is the “biggest trade war of the century” all about?
Is it purely over America’s trade deficit with China? Or is it a war for the US to contain China’s rise? Or even a war against globalisation?
Beijing and Washington apparently have just the opposite views. Then how about Hong Kong, which remains an independent and free economic entity under “one country, two systems”? Can Hong Kong try to remain neutral so as not to be dragged too far into this row? The city may once have hoped so, but that is very unlikely to be the case now.
As for China, besides accusing the US of trying to stop its development, the latest official line is that – more than a trade war between the two most important global economic powers – this is a war against the world’s free-trade system, a set-up ironically initiated by the US decades ago.
That narrative signifies a shift in the Beijing leadership’s thinking. After negotiating hard with the US in the hope of a last-minute reprieve, regardless of how slim the chance, China now is apparently not only deeply disappointed but must have come to realise the inevitability of this trade war. And that it will be a long one – a reality that is hard to swallow but cannot be changed.