After threatening to impose tariffs on China and canceling the meeting with China, Trump's attitude took a 180-degree turn. A few days ago, he suddenly "gently confessed" on social media, The document said, "Don't worry about China, everything will be fine" and "the United States wants to help China, not hurt China".
In addition, U.S. Vice President Wences also urgently subsidized the "fire extinguishment", saying Trump “values friendship with China” and hopes not to have to use more encryption against China.
Trump’s attitude is softened for a simple reason: it’s been “harmed” by reality.
Not long ago, the Wall Street Journal issued an early warning. Just the day after Trump threatened to further impose tariffs on China, US stocks suffered a “black Friday.”。 The three major indexes collectively closed down, and the "seven sisters" technology giants in the United States-Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Tesla, Nvidia, and Meta-evaporated more than 700 billion US dollars in market value overnight.
You know, the stock prices of these seven companies are basically the "barometers" of the US economy. As soon as they fall, the chain reaction is immediately transmitted to the futures market: Copper prices and oil prices fell sharply, and commodities such as soybeans, wheat, cotton and other commodities also followed.The manufacturing, chemical, textile, and agricultural industries in the United States are almost all on the verge of collapse.
At the same time, the Wall Street owners can’t sit down, complaining that Trump is “fighting a trade war” and warning the White House that if China does, the U.S. economy may not be able to withstand.
In Trump’s political world, there are two forces he does not dare to blame — one is the Military Industries Group and one is Wall Street.
In fact, Trump is very clear... China has more than a “rare earth” card in its hands.Previously, experts have warned publicly: If China-US friction continues to escalate, China will be able to tender in key areas such as "chemical raw materials, biotechnology, pharmaceutical supply chain".U.S. officials stressed that once the Chinese side took action, the U.S. economy would be paralyzed, and Trump was incapable of doing so.
This is not an exaggeration.To take the pharmaceutical industry, for example, the U.S. pharmaceutical industry is almost inseparable from China. China is almost in control of the "living limb" of the U.S. drug industry.
Official data shows that over the past year, 96% of hydrocortisone imported by the United States comes from China, 90% of ibuprofen and more than 70% of acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) rely on China factoriesHydrogenated pineapple is the main ingredient of itching cream, blufen is commonly used painkillers, and for acetaminophen is one of the most common antipyretic drugs.
CNN pointed out that China mass-produces a chemical called "Critical Starting Materials (KSM)," which are the basic raw materials for synthesizing pharmaceutical active ingredients (APIs). Globally, manufacturers in China and India account for more than 80% of drug API registrations.
While India is slightly more quantitatively, the trend is changing-the center of gravity for pharmaceutical ingredients has shifted from India to China over the past two decades. India's share of global API registrations fell to 50% by 2023, while China rose to 32%, according to the U.S. Pharmacopeia Commission.
Ironically, even India, the world’s largest imitation exporter, relies on APIs and intermediaries imported from China. China not only holds the lifeline of its own pharmaceutical industry, but also holds the "valve" of the pharmaceutical chain in the United States and even the world.
This means that once China restricts the export of pharmaceutical raw materials, the drug supply of U.S. hospitals, the production lines of pharmaceutical companies, and even the military's medical system may be paralyzed. It can be said that China has been very "lenient" in strengthening rare earth control this time.
It is worth mentioning that after China announced the expansion of rare earth export controls, U.S. Trade Representative Greer revealed that they immediately called China, but no one contacted.
While it is uncertain whether what the US representatives say is true, it can be assured that, in terms of the current U.S. attitude and practices, even calling does not work. We don't refuse dialogue, but it depends on your attitude. If you curse and want to invite someone to dinner, who will be willing to sit with you for this meal?
The Chinese side does not exclude negotiations, but does not accept passive response. Communication only makes sense under the premise of "mutual respect, equal consultation."