The most recent trade talks between the United States and China in Geneva and London provided little more than temporary relief in the conflict between the world’s two largest economies.
Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to tout the stopgap measures as a “deal” that benefits America, China reads the scoreboard differently — and believes it is winning. From its vantage point, it has weathered the storm and emerged more confident, more self-reliant and more convinced that its long game is paying off.
Since the grinding Sino-American trade war began in 2018, China has crafted a playbook that blends defensive and offensive strategies to mitigate its vulnerability to tariffs and sanctions. On the defensive front, China has rerouted trade flows, developed hedge against the dollar-based global financial system and accelerated investment in indigenous technologies. It has also made a concerted push to boost domestic consumption, although not as an end in itself but as a means to reinforce strategic sectors like artificial intelligence applications and green tech.
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