The News
China’s leaders vowed to “resolutely focus” on supporting firms hit by US President Donald Trump’s trade war, insisting they would head off Washington’s punishing tariffs.
Already, duties of at least 145% on Chinese goods are upending global trade: In recent days, China slashed purchases of American farm goods, while Apple will reportedly shift assembly of US-bound iPhones to India.
The Trump administration has voiced openness to negotiating down tariffs on China, which analysts characterized as weakness: A Bloomberg editor argued Chinese leader Xi Jinping was “winning his tariff waiting game with Trump,” while Handelsblatt said the US president was “Beijing’s best man.”
Yet China’s economy is not impervious, with the Financial Times reporting its factories are slowing production and furloughing workers, while Bloomberg said Beijing is considering lowering its reciprocal levies on US goods in order to bolster vulnerable sectors.
