Despite initially treading towards a potential trade deal, US President Donald Trump’s government has once again cornered China in a big statement. Vice President JD Vance argued why it was necessary for Beijing to “choose the path of reason,” adding that the US has an upper hand in the issue.
During an interaction on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, he said, “It’s going to be a delicate dance, and a lot of it is going to depend on how the Chinese respond. If they respond in a highly aggressive manner, I guarantee you, the president of the United States has far more cards than the People’s Republic of China.” On the same page of the conversation, he maintained that if China was willing to be reasonable, then the US would reciprocate the sentiment as well.
JD Vance and Trump intensify trade spat with China
Disclosing he had talked to the POTUS over the weekend, Vance also said that while Trump “appreciates” his “friendship” with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the US still has a “lot of leverage.” Despite laying out the threats, he insisted that it was his and the American leader’s hope that they don’t have to put that “leverage” to use.
Fanning the fire on social media, Trump eventually wrote on Truth Social, “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!”
The discordant exchanges between the two countries intensified following China’s last week shocker. Over the past week, Beijing announced a sweeping changes to its export rules impacting global shipments of electric motors, computer chips and other devices. The new rules, which now make China not only a target of the US but also Europe, are set to go into effect early from early November onwards in stages.
The revelation has since made Trump furiously declared that he would add 100% tariffs on Chinese goods (to the existing 30%), in addition to blocking some US software exports, from November 1 onwards. “We’re gonna have to see what happens. That’s why I made it November 1. We’ll see what happens,” he said on Friday.
The rising tensions between the two nations further jolted markets that day, hitting stocks, oil and crypto like a wrecking ball. On top of that, Vance even sounded the alarm on the “good relationship” between Washington and Beijing being threatened “if the Chinese go down this pathway of cutting off the entire world from access to some of the goods that they produce.”
How China responded to additional Trump tariff threats
Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce also issued a response, fuelling the heated diplomatic back-and-forth. Early Sunday, it pressed that negotiations were the right way to go about the deal instead of mounting up more tariff threats.
Responding with a threat of its own, the Chinese ministry said, “Threatening with high tariffs at every turn is not the right way to get along with China. If the US persists in its own course, China will resolutely take corresponding measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.
Additionally, the Chinese government hit out against the intensified tariff threat from Trump’s side, describing it as a “typical example of US double standards. A spokesperson asserted, “China’s position on a tariff war has always been consistent: we do not want one, but we are not afraid of one,” adding the US had repeatedly “overstretched the concept of national security, abused export control measures” and “adopted discriminatory practices against China.”
Currently, the US is imposing 30% duties on goods from China. Meanwhile, US goods coming to China face a 10% tariff.