US-China May trade negotiations have resulted in a new wave of tariff sprees from Washington. For its part, China has made it clear that while it remains open to talks, it will not succumb to the US pressure. Chinese academics and businessmen have weighed up Washington and Beijing’s chances of winning the trade war.
Following 9-10 May trade talks with China US President Donald Trump moved to step up the tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese imports from 10 to 25 percent thus disrupting a trade truce he agreed upon with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on 2 December 2018. China reacted in a tit-for-tat manner, introducing new tariffs on $60 billion in American goods three days later. While the US Treasury is signalling that the negotiations between the world’s two biggest economies are likely to continue, the US Department of Commerce has placed Chinese telecom giant Huawei along with 70 affiliates on a trade blacklist. The Trump administration embraced the tariff spree in March 2018, citing a growing trade deficit between China and the US.