As the trade war between the United States and China kicked back into high gear after a period of tentative détente, it was clear just how vast the gulf of misunderstanding between the two superpowers had become.
President Trump said that he had been blindsided by China’s new controls on rare earth metals and products made from them, announced earlier in the week, amid what he had called a “very good” relationship in recent months. Chinese commentators insisted that Beijing was only responding to new attacks from the United States, and that Washington was the provocateur, because it had ramped up technological restrictions on China while professing good will.
Both sides also seemed convinced that they had the advantage and that the other side had overplayed its hand.
The blame game continued on Saturday, as China woke up to Mr. Trump’s announcement that he would impose new 100 percent tariffs on Chinese imports from Nov. 1. The move was criticized by Chinese analysts and commentators, although there was no immediate reaction from the Chinese government.
“What is Trump feeling wronged about?” Hu Xijin, the influential former editor of Global Times, a Communist Party-controlled newspaper, wrote on Weibo, a social media platform. “ What is he angry about? He should first understand what the U.S. has done to China!”
President Trump’s tariff threat highlighted the huge stakes involved in having control over the raw materials and technologies, such as rare earth metals and batteries, that will power the next generation of industry.
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The post China Flexed. Trump Hit Back. So Much for the Thaw. appeared first on New York Times.
