{"id":288544,"date":"2025-04-23T16:27:05","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T16:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/23\/trumps-tariff-tumble-the-twist-in-us-china-trade-war-times-of-india\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T16:27:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T16:27:05","slug":"trumps-tariff-tumble-the-twist-in-us-china-trade-war-times-of-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/23\/trumps-tariff-tumble-the-twist-in-us-china-trade-war-times-of-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s tariff tumble: The twist in US-China trade war – Times of India"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Trump\u2019s<\/div>


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By all appearances, Donald Trump<\/a> is looking for a way out. Just months into his second presidency, the US President is signaling a retreat – or at least a recalibration – on one of his most aggressive economic fronts: the trade war with China.
At a White House press conference on Tuesday, Trump appeared to temper his earlier hardline stance on tariffs, saying duties on Chinese imports \u201cwill come down substantially\u201d but \u201cwon\u2019t be zero.\u201d His tone was markedly less confrontational: \u201cWe\u2019re going to be very nice and they\u2019re going to be very nice,\u201d he said, striking an oddly conciliatory note for a man who just weeks ago called Chinese trade practices \u201ccheating at a planetary scale.\u201d
To some, this sounded like strategy. But to many experts and investors, it sounded more like anxiety.
\u201cTrump is panicking due to the markets plummeting and still very high US treasury yields,\u201d said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at Natixis, in comments to the South China Morning Post. \u201cHe needs a deal – and quick. China does not need to offer anything big in such circumstances.\u201d
Beijing isn\u2019t biting<\/span><\/p>\n

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  • For now, Beijing appears in no rush to respond. And that, experts say, is precisely the point.<\/li>\n
  • Chinese President Xi Jinping<\/keyword> has maintained radio silence even as Trump continues to dangle public invitations for dialogue. The response from Beijing has been calculated – and increasingly cold. <\/li>\n
  • According to the Kobeissi Letter, state-backed Chinese funds have begun pulling back from US private equity investments under pressure from the government. Major players like the China Investment Corporation have halted planned commitments, and Chinese investors are avoiding US-linked deals, even when managed offshore.<\/li>\n
  • The message: China is not only refusing to blink \u2014 it\u2019s preparing to go without.<\/li>\n
  • This week, China\u2019s commerce ministry issued a blunt warning: it \u201cfirmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China\u2019s interests.\u201d It\u2019s a posture steeped in nationalism and, increasingly, leverage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    \u2018We have an embargo now\u2019<\/span>
    Despite the White House\u2019s optimistic language, the broader reality is grim. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent privately admitted in a closed-door investor summit that the current status quo – 145% tariffs by the US and 125% retaliatory duties from China \u2014 amounts to \u201ca two-way embargo.\u201d Though he predicted \u201cde-escalation\u201d in the near future, he conceded that formal negotiations haven\u2019t even begun.
    \u201cNo one thinks the current situation is sustainable,\u201d Bessent said. But he also acknowledged the absence of a road map.
    Markets responded favorably – temporarily. The S&P 500 rose 2.5% on the day, buoyed by hopes that Washington might finally relent. But the deeper concern is structural: the tariffs have roiled financial markets, triggered selloffs in US Treasuries, and spooked investors who once viewed the dollar as a safe haven.
    As the New York Times noted, Trump’s personalized approach – ratcheting up pressure to force a top-level summit – has so far failed. Xi Jinping, it seems, won\u2019t be strong-armed into a phone call, the NYT said.
    ‘The more he talks, the more anxious he looks’<\/span>
    Trump\u2019s own remarks may be undercutting his leverage. \u201cIn reality, there hasn\u2019t been any substantial progress or change in the US-China tariff negotiations,\u201d said Chen Zhiwu, a professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong. \u201cThis is [Trump\u2019s] way of signaling to China.\u201d
    \u201cBut the more he talks like this, the more it shows how anxious the US side is,\u201d Chen told the SCMP. \u201cTrump and his team are under pressure, but China isn\u2019t showing any signs of impatience.\u201d
    Others agree that Trump\u2019s apparent softening is likely a reflection of pressure at home \u2014 not progress abroad.
    \u201cRising living costs, economic disarray, and popular discontent will eventually force a definite pivot,\u201d said Xu Tianchen of the Economist Intelligence Unit. For now, he said, Trump\u2019s tariff comments appear more like improvisation than strategy. \u201cThings are still pretty fluid.\u201d
    A self-inflicted wound?<\/span><\/p>\n

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    • If Trump\u2019s goal was to pressure Beijing into concessions, analysts argue he may have misjudged the moment – and his opponent.<\/li>\n
    • The 145% tariffs have hurt Chinese exporters, but they\u2019ve also fueled inflation in the US, raised costs for American businesses, and alienated allies. China, by contrast, appears increasingly insulated. Years of preparation \u2014 diversifying trade routes, investing in domestic supply chains, and cultivating new markets in Asia, Africa, and Europe \u2014 have paid off.<\/li>\n
    • Beijing has been methodical, and perhaps more importantly, patient.<\/li>\n
    • US-China relations are in “effectively a state of economic war,” Susan Thornton, who served as acting top US diplomat for East Asia during Trump’s first administration, told AFP.<\/li>\n
    • “China views Trump’s stated intent to… erect a ‘tariff wall against China’ as illegal and an existential threat,” Thornton, now a senior fellow at Yale’s Paul Tsai China Center, said.<\/li>\n
    • Meanwhile, Washington is bleeding goodwill – and time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

      No deal, no summit<\/span>
      Even the possibility of a Trump-Xi summit now seems remote. \u201cTrump has torched any realistic chance of a near-term meeting,\u201d said Wu Xinbo of Fudan University. \u201cHis behavior is seen as rude and unreasonable \u2014 there\u2019s no trust.\u201d
      Others echo that view. \u201cNeither Trump nor Xi will want to convey that he has yielded to the other,\u201d Ali Wyne of the International Crisis Group told AFP. \u201cThey both want to look strong. But Xi has the advantage of time.\u201d
      For Beijing, a deal now – under economic duress and political chaos in Washington – would look like capitulation. That is politically untenable for Xi, who has spent years cultivating an image of strength and resolve.
      (With inputs from agencies)<\/div>\n