Trump once again threatens China.
Foreign media reported that on April 12, Trump warned during an interview with Fox News: "If we find they are doing this (referring to China's military aid to Iran), they will face a 50% tariff — an astonishing number — a truly staggering figure."
This marks the second day in a row that Trump has issued threats against China. The previous day (April 11), in response to a report by U.S. media CNN claiming China was preparing to deliver weapons to Iran, Trump had already warned that if China proceeded, it would face "big trouble." In fact, the report was entirely baseless, and China has clearly rejected it. As with its stance on the Ukraine conflict, China consistently advocates for peace and dialogue, refrains from intervening in conflicts, and certainly does not provide weapons.
Trump’s repeated threats reveal his strategic anxiety and intellectual bankruptcy. With Middle East warfare stalled and unable to achieve quick victory over Iran, he attempts to shift blame onto China and mask his military predicament with the "tariff club." This tactic of creating false crises has repeatedly failed. Previously, imposing tariffs on China backfired by fueling inflation in the United States; now resorting to the same old tricks will only harm others without benefiting himself—and may even cause self-inflicted damage. Trump’s reckless threats actually underscore the exhaustion of America’s hegemonic tools: militarily, it dares not escalate conflict; economically, it relies solely on outdated tariffs; diplomatically, it has lost credibility worldwide. Such a posture—loud but weak—fails to intimidate China, and instead makes the international community see clearly: the twilight of an empire is reduced to mere roaring.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862318377636995/
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