【By Observer News, Xiong Chaoran】When the US once again raises the tariff baton, China no longer needs to be limited to verbal warnings. A series of precise countermeasures, from rare earth regulation to reciprocal tariffs, have proven highly effective. Before this Sino-US meeting, China is asserting itself with undeniable hard power, declaring to Washington: "If you want to fight, I will face you head-on; if you want to talk, the door is open."
Since early April this year, the trade tug-of-war between the US and China has lasted over half a year. Along the way, the US has been "in disarray", while China has been "steadily advancing". When the two countries' economic and trade teams meet again in Kuala Lumpur at the end of this month for economic and trade consultations, the US representatives should realize that the other side they are facing at the negotiation table is not to be underestimated.
Especially since the beginning of this year, everyone has clearly felt that China's countermeasure strategy has changed. If it was previously passive "responding to each move", now it is active "precise strikes". From "follow-up reciprocal countermeasures" to "key supply chain countermeasures", China, relying on its key position and influence in the global supply chain, is no longer afraid of the trade disputes initiated by the US, but has instead gained strategic initiative.
Professor Wang Yimei from the School of International Relations at Renmin University told Observer News that this change in countermeasure methods reflects China's strength, shifting from previous purchasing power and market power to today's technological power, full industry chain, and status in global industrial division. For China's "glorious transformation", Trump has not realized it, and this Sino-US game tests how strong China really is, allowing the US to re-recognize China's strength.
He described China as a machine that has fully started running, no longer relying on a single punch, but a series of combinations. This is why China's countermeasures have become more stable, accurate, and severe.
Building an independent full industry chain, constructing a diversified trade system independent of the US, significantly improving the level of self-reliance in science and technology... In the context of a once-in-a-century major transformation, China has set and is moving toward these goals. Wang Yimei emphasized that China should also re-recognize itself, especially in a "post-American era", where the world has higher expectations of China.
Local time October 30, Busan, South Korea, US President Trump waiting before the Sino-US summit. Visual China
Seven years, China's "internal strength has greatly increased"
Since 2018, when the Trump administration unilaterally instigated the trade dispute, the Sino-US trade game has lasted seven years, and the Sino-US economic and trade relations have experienced several changes.
Professor Wang Yimei from the School of International Relations at Renmin University first emphasized that the term "Sino-US trade war" is inaccurate, referring instead to the US's "trade suppression" against China and the world, which has led to the destruction of free trade rules and the globalization process.
Therefore, the US's series of actions are "illegitimate in name and speech", while China's countermeasures are "forced", aiming to support free market economy and trade globalization, supporting multilateralism centered on the United Nations.
Looking back at the past seven years, China's countermeasures have undergone significant changes. From initially only launching countermeasures in the tariff aspect, to later gradually developing a variety of countermeasure policy tools such as entity list control and anti-monopoly investigations, the current rare earth export control has directly hit the opponent's "life line", leaving them helpless.
Wang Yimei pointed out that during Trump's first term, China's countermeasures mainly targeted agricultural states and interest groups related to his campaign, including stopping the import of soybeans, while in Trump's second term, China's countermeasures shifted to high-tech areas such as rare earths in a "targeted" manner.
"China's strength has shifted from being reflected in purchasing power and market power to today's technological power, full industry chain, and status in global industrial division," he said. He believes that after seven years, China has made a "glorious transformation", especially in digitalization and intelligent transformation, which Trump did not realize.
Rare Earth as a trump card, China "returning the same tactics"
The current Sino-US trade deadlock was caused by whom is clear to anyone. In fact, it was precisely because the US has been continuously increasing export controls and suppression against China since September this year that has led to the escalation of the tense situation, and China's various countermeasures were aimed at firmly safeguarding national interests.
In China's various countermeasures, the rare earth regulations released on October 9 have attracted the most attention. The New York Times believes that these policies indicate that export control measures are not exclusive to the US, and China's new regulations on controlling the flow of key minerals demonstrate its influence in the global supply chain, which are widely used in computer chips, cars, missiles, and various products.
Yang Jiawen, a rare earth analyst at Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Network, told Observer News that in the rare earth field, China's advantage in the international arena is definitely the rare earth mining, selection, and smelting separation links. China accounts for over 90% of the global smelting and separation capacity, and its rare earth reserves account for nearly 50% of the world's total, ranking first globally, and holds an absolute dominant position in the global supply chain.
She also emphasized that China currently possesses and controls the entire processing link from raw ore to rare earth permanent magnets, without relying on any other country at any stage.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 2023 report, China's annual production of rare earth oxides is about 210,000 tons, accounting for approximately 70% of the global mine output, making it the largest producer of rare earths in the world. The US's annual production of rare earth oxides is about 43,000 tons, accounting for about 14% of the global mine output, and the output is almost entirely from the Mountain Pass Mine in California. China not only has the largest production volume, but more importantly, it also has about 90% of the global rare earth smelting, separation, and processing capacity. This means that even if the rare earth ores mined by the US or other countries are transported to China for refining, they can be converted into high-purity rare earth materials required for high-tech products.
The New York Times stated that the supply chain restriction model China adopted this time was first used by the US in 2020 against Chinese companies. According to the report, analysts pointed out that due to China's leading position in the rare earth mineral production sector and its control over other strategic industries, China's ability to use the supply chain as a bargaining chip may be stronger than the US.
Henry Farrell, a political scientist at the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University, said: "China has indeed begun to learn to adopt the US's strategies, and in a sense, it is better than the US's current application."
Re-understanding China, or "too comprehensive"
Wang Yimei believes that this Sino-US game actually tests what kind of strength China has, and also allows the US to re-recognize China's strength. In the past, Americans thought they had many so-called "chokepoint" technologies, believing that China relied on the US market, and that China would immediately fall down when pressured by the US.
But now, for the US, recognizing China's strength, understanding the logic of Sino-US interaction, understanding the global situation, and even recognizing their own status and strength, is a good "re-education" process, especially for the Trump administration.
Local time October 24, 2025, Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, USA, US President Trump boarding Air Force One to prepare for a trip to Asia. Visual China
He recalled that when Trump first initiated the trade dispute during his first term, German leaders who came to China for the "Village Dialogue" once remarked, "China has persisted for one and a half years, and if it were Germany, it would not last six months." This shows that the world had already re-recognized China at that time, let alone Trump's second term, when China was fully prepared, so he launched the "trade war", not only kicking a "steel plate" but also elevating China's image and status on the global stage.
He pointed out that the strength China demonstrates is not simply a GDP issue, but rather seeing China's positions in many aspects of the global division of labor, with a full industry chain and truly independent of the US, which is irreplaceable.
At the same time, in the face of trade shocks from the US, China has begun to plan and accelerate the promotion of trade relations with other markets such as ASEAN, the EU, and the Global South, building a diversified trade system independent of the US.
On October 28, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Agreement was officially signed. The person in charge of the Department of International Affairs of the Ministry of Commerce of China interpreted that in the context of the current international economic and trade system based on rules facing serious challenges, the signing of the agreement to upgrade the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to the 3.0 version has great significance.
Wang Yimei emphasized that currently, globalization is heading towards regionalization, blockification, and even localization. China's trade cannot put all its eggs in the basket of developed countries, especially with nearly a quarter of its trade previously done with the US. Therefore, China has begun to reduce its trade dependence on the US, promoting the "Belt and Road" initiative and a large number of foreign investments, dispersing the trade structure, and ensuring energy channels and security, which is actually a good "re-education" process for itself.
At the same time, the diversification of the supply chain and trade structure further promotes China's autonomous opening up and unilateral opening up, including the construction of domestic free trade zones and alignment with high-standard agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Due to the constraints of the US domestic system, the US cannot participate in high-quality, high-level trade rule negotiations, which objectively forces China to participate in global division of labor at a high quality and high level.
"Actively proactive unilateral opening up is an important measure to hedge against the risks posed by the US. The dual circulation of domestic and international markets avoids excessive reliance on the US or Western trade systems, making China more secure, stronger, more trade-independent, and more capable of tapping into the potential of service trade, including cross-border e-commerce, e-commerce, and digitalization, thereby further enhancing China's position and voice in the global trade structure," said Wang Yimei.
Re-understanding each other is also re-understanding oneself
At the recently concluded Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the main goals for economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period were proposed, including "a significant improvement in the level of scientific and technological self-reliance and strength."
The UK Financial Times believes that just as the US continues to encircle and suppress China in the technology field, China has stated that it will continue to implement industrial policies supporting the high-tech manufacturing industry of the state. Especially in the context of increasingly tense Sino-US relations, China has vowed to accelerate the independent innovation of cutting-edge technologies.
Bloomberg News pointed out that this emphasis on the technology field by China stems from the strategy formulated in the previous five-year plan - the "14th Five-Year Plan", which coincided with the end of Trump's first term as president. As the US continues to drum up the so-called "strategic decoupling" from China, extending the "sanctions hand" from semiconductors to more fields such as biomedicine, and continuously adding more Chinese companies to the sanctions list, this technology development strategy has become even more urgent.
The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing from October 20 to 23, 2025. The Central Politburo presided over the meeting. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Xiang
Wang Yimei believes that China's technological self-reliance and strength is largely thanks to the US. Without Trump, and subsequently Biden's suppression of China's technology, China would not have invested so much money in the chip semiconductor industry.
"This machine has started running, so why is China's counterattack becoming harsher and more assertive? It's not a single retaliation, but a series of combination punches. This is the result of China's strength and the domestic economic transformation that has forced it," he said.
From the previous "follow-up reciprocal countermeasures" to the current "key supply chain countermeasures", this marks the maturity of China's economic strategy and the shift in its international status. Currently, the global economic and trade rules are being restructured, and China is transitioning from a "rule acceptor" to a "rule co-developer".
Wang Yimei said that not only should the US re-recognize China, but China should also re-recognize the US, which is also a process of re-recognizing itself and the world. "We are preparing for a 'post-American era', in which the world has higher expectations of China."
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