US President Donald Trump has declared that theUnited States and China are in a ‘trade war,’ framing the imposition of tariffs on Chinese imports as a critical tool for national security. Chinese officials, however, have warned that a ‘tariff war’ yields no winners and emphasized the need for resolution through consultation and mutual benefit. This escalating tension follows China’s increased export controls on rare-earth materials, which are crucial for American high-tech industries.
Trump last week threatened to impose an additional 10 than 100% tariff on Chinese goods, marking a sharp escalation in tensions following Beijing’s decision to introduce tighter export restrictions on the export of rare-earths. While the policy does not explicitly target the US, American high-tech companies are highly dependent on Chinese rare-earth supplies. Earlier this year, Trump drastically raised the ‘reciprocal tariffs’ for China, which in certain cases exceeded 100%, although he later suspended the hike to allow trade talks to proceed, with the pause now extended until November 10. The current baseline tariff for China is now at 10%, although some goods face higher rates.
The US leader also pressed Beijing to scale back purchases of Russian oil, arguing such flows help finance Moscow’s military. China has dismissed the remarks as ‘intimidation’ while Moscow has stressed that sovereign countries have the right to choose their own economic partners. Meanwhile, in another sign of escalating tensions, Trump announced on Tuesday that the US would stop buying cooking oil from China, casting it as a response to Beijing paring back US soybean purchases. However, despite the ongoing back-and-forth, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed earlier this week that Trump and Xi are still scheduled to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in South Korea in late October.