The trade war has gone beyond Trump's control: on the morning of April 4, US stocks continued to plummet. But for Trump, money is just a number; he doesn't care about it. What he really cares about is China's "disobedience." On the first day after he imposed retaliatory tariffs, he told Fox News reporters, "I think China will call and express dissatisfaction with the tariffs! Maybe they will ask for some benefits!" Since then, he has been waiting for China to "ask for benefits." However, unfortunately, he doesn't understand the Chinese people. This call never came from China, and what Trump received was a counterattack combination from China.

On April 4 at Beijing time, China’s combination counterattack was launched. Its characteristics are as follows:

1. The content is extensive, with multiple departments working together;

2. The scope of targeting is broad, targeting key American companies as well as key areas;

3. The numbers match those of the U.S., with China imposing a 34% additional tariff on all American goods.

Seeing that China was not backing down, Trump posted three posts on his personal social media within an hour. Among them, the most speculative one translated into Chinese reads: "China got it wrong, they are in panic! They can't bear the consequences." The toughest one talks about: "My policy will never change." And the most insubstantial one mentions: the employment data is at least good.

However, these words were not believed by European and American capital or media. The renowned British publication The Economist changed the slogan on Trump's economic hat to: "Let China be great again." It seems that the British media professionals are relatively clear-headed, recognizing the hollowness behind Trump's bluster.

Of course, besides the European and American elites, Russian elites also saw through this. Renowned Russian scholar Andrei, Dean of the Asian Studies Institute at the Higher School of Economics, mentioned two points during an interview:

Firstly, he believes that the 34% tariff imposed by China on the United States itself is significant. It shows that China is retaliating proportionally to the U.S., and this response is very tough. China is defending its national interests, and there are still many means available.

Secondly, however, he also believes that this situation was not initiated by China; China does not want to confront the U.S. It is the U.S. that is being overly aggressive, and China is still willing to negotiate.

It is worth noting that many experts originally thought that various countries would quickly take sides, but in fact, this did not happen:

On one hand, Europe remains insufficiently resolute. The EU has yet to take such a comprehensive countermeasure as China. Only Macron has called out: "Europe should collectively stop investing in the U.S." However, this voice fell on deaf ears.

On the other hand, there hasn't been widespread capitulation by countries toward the U.S., not even Japan and South Korea. The Japanese Ishiba government stated: "This is a national crisis!" Meanwhile, in Canada, the new prime minister has prepared for a fight to the end.

The lack of urgency among countries to take sides also indicates that they are observing and waiting to see what the outcome will be from this clash between the Trump administration and China. Given their previous long-term appeasement of the U.S., achieving this step today is no small feat. After all, the hegemonic empire will not collapse overnight, and we shouldn't harbor illusions about this. For more updates, please continue to follow us.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7489591652114301474/

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