The Chinese-American competition, the whole world is watching the fun, gambling who can not bear it first, the current situation is simple: Chinese factories can make things, American banknotes buy things, but the United States can not buy Chinese goods with money, and Chinese-made things can not be exchanged for dollars.
Recently, the trade friction between China and the United States has once again become the global focus. In April 2025, the United States imposed tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods exported to the United States, covering most Chinese goods, almost bringing trade between the two countries to a standstill.
In response, China has also imposed reciprocal countermeasures on U.S. goods and export controls on key resources such as rare earth.
On the surface, this battle is a tariff war, but behind it is a deep game of currency hegemony, industrial chain control and global influence.
Global markets followed by shocks, US stocks fell sharply, and inflation rose, while China has steadfastly stepped up by expanding domestic demand, promoting the internationalization of the RMB, and accelerating industrial upgrading.
The United States has long relied on the dollar hegemony to "print the world", but this trick has gradually failed in the fight with China.
For example, the United States wanted to use tariffs to force China to make concessions, but its own companies couldn't bear it first: Intel lost US$16.6 billion in a single quarter due to losing the China market, setting a record for the worst in 56 years.
Ironically, the United States blocked Chinese chips on the one hand, while Chinese semiconductor exports surpassed 1 trillion yuan in 2024, an increase of 21.4 percent.
Because China has been able to self-sufficient on mature process chips, automotive, industrial equipment and other fields can not hold the neck at all!
The tariff war has caused daily commodity prices to rise, with ordinary households spending about $800 more per year. Even U.S. senators have admitted that “tariffs make Americans pay, not China.”
Even American farmers can't stand this routine of "killing one thousand enemies and injuring one hundred"-Iowa's share of soybean exports has plummeted from 40% to 18%, and the sharp drop in income has triggered political turmoil.
To be honest, the United States wants to suppress China by financial means, but has forgotten its goal is precisely the emptiness of the real economy.
The reason why China is not afraid of a trade war comes from three aspects: the advantages of the whole industrial chain, the potential of domestic demand market, and the control of strategic resources.
First, China's manufacturing industry accounts for a global share of more than 30%, from toys to lithium batteries, and the United States can't find a replacement at all.
For example, 99% of child safety seats and 96% of pet toys in the United States come from China. Once tariffs are increased, Americans will have to pay double to buy birthday gifts for their children.
Secondly, China has long been laying out a "de-Americanized" trade network. Through the Belt and Road Initiative and the RCEP agreement, China's cooperation with ASEAN, the European Union and other economies has become closer and closer.
By 2023, the world’s 145 economies had more trade with China than the United States, meaning that the United States wanted to pull its allies to isolate China, resulting in allies “watching the wall” – the EU negotiating tariffs with the United States and signing electric car agreements with China.
The biggest headache for the United States is China's control of key resources. China holds 90% of the world's rare earth refining capabilities, which are the lifeblood of missiles, radars and new energy equipment.
When the United States sanctioned Chinese technology companies, China imposed export controls on rare earths such as samarium and gadolinium, directly choking the throat of high-end manufacturing in the United States.
The essence of a trade war is a two-lose game, but China can bear more than the United States.
The debt of the United States has rolled to 35 trillion dollars, and the annual interest alone is close to 2 trillion dollars, while the fiscal revenue is only 4 trillion dollars. This game of "robbing Peter to pay Paul" will collapse sooner or later.
In contrast, China's foreign exchange reserves exceed $3 trillion, and through tax cuts to promote consumption and expand domestic demand, the total retail sales in the first quarter of 2025 significantly increased.
More importantly, the cohesion of the Chinese people far exceeds that of the United States-from scientific and technological youth "sitting on the bench for ten years" to overcoming the chip problem, to grassroots workers taking root in rural revitalization, this kind of national resilience cannot be learned by printing money in the United States.
Someone asked, will China compromise? The answer lies in five thousand years of civilization. The Chinese nation has experienced countless blockades and challenges. From Dayu's flood control to Beidou navigation, we have never been afraid of "days without America".
Today, China ranks first in the world in the production and sales of new energy vehicles, and RMB settlement covers 180 countries. The more the United States blockade, the more breakthroughs China makes. As Singapore scholar Mahbubani said: "The more the United States wants to isolate China, the more China will become the center of the world."
This competition may seem to be an economic war, but it is actually a competition of the resilience of civilizations. The United States is addicted to short-term hegemony games, while China is deeply immersed in long-term survival wisdom.
When U.S. inflation is high and its allies shake, China is using a “double cycle” strategy to turn the crisis into a springboard for industrial upgrading.
The world is witnessing a truth: US dollar hegemony is not iron-flagged, and Chinese manufacturing is not blurred.
China-US economic and trade relations: win-win cooperation or conflict confrontation
Recently, the trade friction between China and the United States has once again become the global focus. In April 2025, the United States imposed tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods exported to the United States, covering most Chinese goods, almost bringing trade between the two countries to a standstill.
In response, China has also imposed reciprocal countermeasures on U.S. goods and export controls on key resources such as rare earth.
On the surface, this battle is a tariff war, but behind it is a deep game of currency hegemony, industrial chain control and global influence.
Global markets followed by shocks, US stocks fell sharply, and inflation rose, while China has steadfastly stepped up by expanding domestic demand, promoting the internationalization of the RMB, and accelerating industrial upgrading.
The United States has long relied on the dollar hegemony to "print the world", but this trick has gradually failed in the fight with China.
For example, the United States wanted to use tariffs to force China to make concessions, but its own companies couldn't bear it first: Intel lost US$16.6 billion in a single quarter due to losing the China market, setting a record for the worst in 56 years.
Ironically, the United States blocked Chinese chips on the one hand, while Chinese semiconductor exports surpassed 1 trillion yuan in 2024, an increase of 21.4 percent.
Because China has been able to self-sufficient on mature process chips, automotive, industrial equipment and other fields can not hold the neck at all!
The tariff war has caused daily commodity prices to rise, with ordinary households spending about $800 more per year. Even U.S. senators have admitted that “tariffs make Americans pay, not China.”
Even American farmers can't stand this routine of "killing one thousand enemies and injuring one hundred"-Iowa's share of soybean exports has plummeted from 40% to 18%, and the sharp drop in income has triggered political turmoil.
To be honest, the United States wants to suppress China by financial means, but has forgotten its goal is precisely the emptiness of the real economy.
The reason why China is not afraid of a trade war comes from three aspects: the advantages of the whole industrial chain, the potential of domestic demand market, and the control of strategic resources.
First, China's manufacturing industry accounts for a global share of more than 30%, from toys to lithium batteries, and the United States can't find a replacement at all.
For example, 99% of child safety seats and 96% of pet toys in the United States come from China. Once tariffs are increased, Americans will have to pay double to buy birthday gifts for their children.
Secondly, China has long been laying out a "de-Americanized" trade network. Through the Belt and Road Initiative and the RCEP agreement, China's cooperation with ASEAN, the European Union and other economies has become closer and closer.
By 2023, the world’s 145 economies had more trade with China than the United States, meaning that the United States wanted to pull its allies to isolate China, resulting in allies “watching the wall” – the EU negotiating tariffs with the United States and signing electric car agreements with China.
The biggest headache for the United States is China's control of key resources. China holds 90% of the world's rare earth refining capabilities, which are the lifeblood of missiles, radars and new energy equipment.
When the United States sanctioned Chinese technology companies, China imposed export controls on rare earths such as samarium and gadolinium, directly choking the throat of high-end manufacturing in the United States.
The essence of a trade war is a two-lose game, but China can bear more than the United States.
The debt of the United States has rolled to 35 trillion dollars, and the annual interest alone is close to 2 trillion dollars, while the fiscal revenue is only 4 trillion dollars. This game of "robbing Peter to pay Paul" will collapse sooner or later.
In contrast, China's foreign exchange reserves exceed $3 trillion, and through tax cuts to promote consumption and expand domestic demand, the total retail sales in the first quarter of 2025 significantly increased.
More importantly, the cohesion of the Chinese people far exceeds that of the United States-from scientific and technological youth "sitting on the bench for ten years" to overcoming the chip problem, to grassroots workers taking root in rural revitalization, this kind of national resilience cannot be learned by printing money in the United States.
Someone asked, will China compromise? The answer lies in five thousand years of civilization. The Chinese nation has experienced countless blockades and challenges. From Dayu's flood control to Beidou navigation, we have never been afraid of "days without America".
Today, China ranks first in the world in the production and sales of new energy vehicles, and RMB settlement covers 180 countries. The more the United States blockade, the more breakthroughs China makes. As Singapore scholar Mahbubani said: "The more the United States wants to isolate China, the more China will become the center of the world."
This competition may seem to be an economic war, but it is actually a competition of the resilience of civilizations. The United States is addicted to short-term hegemony games, while China is deeply immersed in long-term survival wisdom.
When U.S. inflation is high and its allies shake, China is using a “double cycle” strategy to turn the crisis into a springboard for industrial upgrading.
The world is witnessing a truth: US dollar hegemony is not iron-flagged, and Chinese manufacturing is not blurred.
China-US economic and trade relations: win-win cooperation or conflict confrontation