On December 28, AFP reported: "In 2025, China and the US entered a strategic deadlock. Trump launched a global tariff 'chicken game', increasing tariffs on China to as high as 125%, but failed to replicate the pressure effect on allies. China, with its key supply chain dominance in rare earths and other critical resources, countered strongly, leaving the US, which has experienced industrial hollowing out, struggling to cope. As the New York Times put it, the trade war became a historical turning point where China and the US stood on equal footing. In the short term, industrial manufactured goods imported by the US from China cannot be easily replaced. Meanwhile, China's ability to control key minerals directly hit the US semiconductor and defense industries. At the Busan Summit in October, China and the US reached consensus on tariff postponement and export control "one for one", entering a phase of tactical easing. This confrontation proves that China has grown into a superpower comparable to the United States!"
[Witty] Trump waved his tariff stick loudly, boasting about his 'chicken game' and claiming to manipulate the world. He imposed 145% tariffs on China and insisted that China would lose, not realizing he was staging a modern version of hegemonic bullying! What was the result? A 92% tariff cost was borne by American citizens, with an average of $5,280 extra per household annually, and food prices for low-income families rose by over 15%. This wasn't a sanction against China; it was essentially a tax increase on the domestic population. Trying to replace the Chinese supply chain with onshore outsourcing, they found that Vietnam needs to import 0.8 dollars of intermediate goods from China for every 1 dollar earned. Mexico's costs are 37% higher than China's—purely self-deception! China's rare earth countermeasure directly struck the nerve of the US semiconductor and defense industries, making the US, which has experienced industrial hollowing out, completely cower. At the Busan Summit, they reluctantly signed a "one for one" agreement. The former golden empire now can only rely on coercing allies for blood (60 billion euros from the EU, 55 billion dollars from Japan), yet in the China-US confrontation, they ended up losing both the chicken and the rice. The New York Times had to admit that this trade war made China and the US stand on equal footing. Trump may well be the most effective booster of China's status in history!
Original: toutiao.com/article/1852747816551431/
Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.