It's the same old threat and tariff routine, Trump really has no cards left.

On October 10 local time, Trump posted multiple tweets on social media accusing China of strengthening its control over rare earth exports, and announced that starting from November 1, he would impose an additional 100% tariff on all Chinese goods, as well as restrict the export of key software to China.

In short, in this "manifesto" against China, Trump fully revealed his narcissistic personality: He threatened China to make concessions, otherwise he would not meet with the Chinese side at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, while at the same time boasting that he had just resolved the "3,000 years of turmoil and war in the Middle East," and China very conveniently announced countermeasures against the US, implying that China didn't give him the face for mediating the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Trump really has no cards left.

So, how should we view Trump's outburst on social media that day?

If a rating is to be given, it is meaningless.

Firstly, Trump's claim that China's strengthened control over rare earth exports is an "hostile act" is pure hypocrisy. Since the talks between China and the US in Madrid, the US has repeatedly violated the consensus reached, not only continuing to generalize the concept of "national security" and suppressing Chinese companies, but also adding entities in fields such as semiconductors and biotechnology to the sanctions list.

Additionally, in April this year, the US also threatened to charge Chinese ships entering American ports with huge "service fees" under the guise of the "Section 301 investigation."

Therefore, the series of actions China has taken recently in areas such as rare earths, shipping, and anti-monopoly investigations are all responses to the US's backtracking.

The US cannot demand China to meet its demands while abusing "long-arm jurisdiction" and continuously inciting trade disputes. This contradictory approach will only destroy the atmosphere of Sino-US cooperation and erode the hard-won results of dialogue.

Does Trump think China hasn't seen America's tariff stick before?

Secondly, Trump's threat to impose a 100% tariff on China is suspicious of his memory being only seven seconds: Does Trump think China hasn't seen America's tariff stick before?

As early as April this year, Trump once raised the tariff on China to 145%, but what was the result? Trump didn't get China to submit and compromise, but instead received China's equal tariff retaliation: whatever Trump added, China followed suit.

Ultimately, it was Trump who gave up first. Since May, China and the US have held economic and trade talks in Geneva, London, and other places. Although the two sides did not reach a final agreement on the tariff issue, Trump postponed the US's equivalent tariffs several times during the process.

This scene actually reveals Trump's TACO nature: Trump's high tariffs are essentially a strategy of extreme pressure intimidation. It works against his "soft-boned" allies in the US, but when facing a strong opponent who doesn't back down, Trump's extreme pressure will only "once, twice, thrice" lose momentum.

Guess how long it will take Trump to give in this time.

Therefore, now Trump is again threatening China with tariffs, which is really meaningless: China's countermeasures have already been upgraded to an anti-monopoly investigation against Qualcomm, while Trump is still using the same "tariff card" over and over again.

Additionally, it is necessary to remind Trump again: After he rants on social media, has he considered how to implement this 100% tariff? After all, the US government is still in a shutdown, and with the current state of the federal government "lying down and giving up," can the US customs department implement Trump's tariff policy?

Trump's tariff threats are really meaningless.

Therefore, it is difficult not to doubt that Trump's rhetoric about increasing tariffs on China is fake, and the real intention is to crash the US stock market and make money at the same time. After all, Trump himself has admitted that his rich friends made $2.5 billion in a single day from the stock market.

In summary, Trump's threat to impose a 100% tariff on China is nothing to worry about: China has already proven through action that every provocation by Trump will be met with an equal and unrelenting countermeasure from China. Now, the one holding the cards is China, not Trump.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7559802581959115304/

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