Experts predict a continued escalation in the US-China trade war, with neither side showing signs of backing down. President Trump's threat to increase tariffs on Chinese goods is seen as a significant escalation by analysts.
Yun Sun of the Stimson Center argues that China is unlikely to compromise due to its belief that the tariffs are non-negotiable and Trump's aim is to reshore manufacturing jobs to the US. They believe a leadership summit between Trump and Xi Jinping is improbable in the near future.
Craig Singleton of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies characterizes Trump's threat as a blunt ultimatum that heightens the stakes. He suggests that China's political system, including its fear of appearing weak, prevents Xi from seeking compromises. The experts foresee a continued spiral of escalation without a clear endpoint.
Experts say Beijing is unlikely to back down, after President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on China if Beijing does not withdraw its retaliatory tariffs.
“At this point, it is extremely unlikely for China to back down,” said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Washington-based think tank Stimson Center, adding any leadership summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping “doesn’t appear likely in the near future.”
“China is increasingly convinced that the tariff is not negotiable because Trump’s eventual goal is to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.,” Sun said.
Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at another Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, called Trump’s threat from today “a blunt ultimatum to Beijing that sharply raises the takes in the U.S.-China tariff war.” He said Beijing’s rigid system and fear of looking weak prevent Xi from opening back channels with the Trump administration that could offer relief.
“This is not a contest of endurance so much as a collision course, where neither side intends to swerve,” Singleton said. “In other words, Trump and Xi are locked into escalation-as-strategy, and the risk now is a slow-motion spiral with no clear ceiling.”
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