The tariff war hit today, many people are still wondering: Trump has no advantage in his hands, and the economic account can not be cleared, but it is hard for China. Chinese experts analyze ten days and ten nights without thinking, what does Trump do? some say he is crazy, some say he is betting. but the fact is more ironic – he is not counting the economic account, but in “missionary.” Political actions in the United States are sometimes like religious rituals, not based on reason, but only on faith.
The source of the tariff storm is not the economy, but faith.
In February 2025, the U.S. government announced the imposition of additional tariffs on Chinese goods.The official reason was written in the crown: "protecting national security,ining manufacturing, re-shaping fair trade."The news came, the global markets shook, and the U.S. stock exchange responded. In those days, the United States had high inflation, overwhelming debt and a single export structure. Launching a tariff war was almost equivalent to self-damage. But Trump still signed the executive order with his own hands and his attitude was firm.
This is not the first time he has done this “anti-economic common sense.” In 2018, he raised steel and aluminum tariffs to disrupt the global industry chain. At the time, China, the EU, and Japan protested, and domestic manufacturing groups in the United States jointly opposed. It turned out that the tax hike reduced U.S. manufacturing employment and prices rose. But Trump didn’t seem to care about these economic consequences. Traditional U.S. “rational politics” turned into “belief politics” in his hands.
The tariff war became part of the "patriotic doctrine." Trump has repeatedly described taxation in public as "purifying the economic soul of America" and called on voters with slogans similar to religious revival. For ordinary American voters, logic is far less important than emotion. American political scholars pointed out that under his governing style, economic data became playful, and faith was the main melody.The U.S. election context was a large sermon, and tariffs became the fire on the altar.
Chinese economic research agencies have repeatedly analysed that U.S. tax increases cannot change the trade structure and only increase inflation. But such rational voices have little space to spread within the United States. Trump’s team relied on the media’s slogan “America has been held cheap for too long” to simplify the complex global trade game into the opposition of “justice and betrayal”. He used religious dualistic logic to shape the enemy and create the image of a salvation hero. Economic logic exits, and the stage of faith comes on stage.
"I levy taxes, so I am"--The strange circle of American belief politics
In the spring of 2025, the U.S. economy has not yet recovered from the shadow of last year's stagnation. prices have risen, state bonds have broken records, and manufacturing jobs have been restrained.The normal economic strategy should stabilize markets and promote cooperation, but Trump has done the opposite. In April, he announced the "Freedom Day Tariff Plan", which will impose tariffs of up to 100% on Chinese goods. The White House document called the move "regaining sovereignty" and "defending faith". Many observers have seen that under the shell of economic vocabulary is the core of faith vocabulary.
The United States is the world’s rarest political religious nation. When the president swore his hand in the Bible, the national currency is printed “We believe in God”, and public policy is often packed with moral justice. Trump is aware of this. He has shaped tariffs as a test of faith – who opposes taxation is not a patriot; who questions tactics is a betrayer of beliefs. Economic experts were classified as “elite groups,” media criticisms were posted on “traitor public opinion,” and supporters shouted at rallies “Make America Great Again.”
The tariff war has also become Trump's political talisman. Every time economic data declines, he announces a "new round of taxes on China." Whenever the country is divided and public opinion is unstable, he strengthens the "threat from foreign enemies." This rhythm is very similar to a religious ritual: when a crisis comes, the sacred fire is lit, and believers feel at ease when they see the light. The Federal Reserve is worried that policies will drag down inflation, and the Chamber of Commerce has warned that jobs will be damaged, but Trump's approval rating has risen instead of falling. People don't care whether they make money, they just want to see "revenge."
This is the absurd reality of American politics-under the control of beliefs and emotions, economic laws become subsidiary. Chinese scholars point out that American society has long formed a "sense of mission politics": maintaining internal unity by creating external enemies. The tariff war fits that demand. It doesn't solve problems, but it can create consensus. What Trump needs is not a trade surplus, but votes. As long as the people feel that "we are resisting", this war will not stop.
This also explains the fact that the negative impact of tariffs on U.S. enterprises has long been announced by the statistical agency: U.S. enterprise import costs increased by 14% in 2024 and profits in some industries fell by a third. However, the Trump team was proud of it, claiming that "short-term pain changes Chang 'an." This is not economic thinking, but the logic of sacrifice based on religious belief-there must be suffering to appear real redemption.
American political commentators have played for example: Trump's trade policy is like a pastor who leads the Pope through the river, even if the front is overflowing, it is also a blow. Because retreat means the collapse of faith. For him, winning and losing are not the economic outcome, but the weakness of believers' confidence. Tariffs become the cross, votes become prayers. Reason has long since left behind, leaving the divine enthusiasm and blind persistence.
The tariff war is getting more and more chaotic, and the United States is being backfired by faith
In the summer of 2025, U.S. tariff measures came into full effect, the price of imported goods rose, and the consumer market immediately felt the sting. California's supermarkets went up first for commodities, then for auto parts, electronics and building materials. American families spend nearly a thousand dollars more each year. This is not a statistic, but real life. However, Trump still declared at the rally that "tariffs will pay for China." The audience applauded, and no one checked the book.
The fact is that data from the U.S. Treasury Department shows that the actual payers of import tariffs are mainly U.S. companies and consumers. Manufacturing costs have risen, export share has shrunk, and corporate profits have fallen. Steel, automobiles, agriculture, energy and other industries experienced a decrease in orders and an increase in unemployment. Many factory employees realize that the slogan "manufacturing return" has turned into a wave of unemployment. The problem is that political beliefs allow economic reality to be ignored.
The Trump team used social platforms to create a "victory narrative." Officials claimed that the United States had forced concessions from China through tariffs and "rebuilt the trade balance." This is not the case. China imposed retaliatory tariffs, the trade volume fell in the short term, and U.S. agricultural exports plummeted. Chinese and American companies turned to third-party markets, Southeast Asia became an alternative center, and the United States lost its originally stable supply chain. The economic losses are real, but Trump still holds high the banner of "rejuvenation".
This scene makes the world see clearly: American policy is no longer completely driven by reason, but kidnapped by "belief politics". Religious obsessions allow facts to be ignored and failures to be packaged as sacrifices. On the surface, tariff war is economic competition, but on the deep level, it is the externalization of "belief superiority theory"-the United States believes that as long as the belief is firm, it can dominate the rules. But trade rules are about arithmetic, not prayer.
By August, the U.S. Retail Federation had issued a warning letter to the White House that tariffs would lead to weak consumption and shrinking jobs in the fourth quarter. The tax cuts were repeatedly vetoed by economic advisers at the conference. Trump insisted that “tariffs are a symbol of victory.”
The Trump administration’s speculation is more than tariffs.Some media disclosures have revealed that the government has once considered expanding the scope of taxation to European allies, using “consensus of belief” as an exemption criterion. This policy design based on the logic of "believers are saved" makes economists incomprehensible. American society is caught in a strange circle-as long as policies can make voters feel that "we are resisting", even if they lose money, they must persist. Faith replaces reason, emotion overcomes logic.
Politics Trapped by Faith and China's Calm Response
Compared to the US noise, China's response appears to be calm and stable. The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly stated that China will not first provoke a trade war, but will resolutely safeguard the national interests. At the policy level, China did not use a fierce counterattack, but through export structure adjustment, market diversification, rare-earth control and so on.
China companies are rapidly exploring markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, and the speed of supply chain restructuring exceeds expectations. Multinational companies reassess their layout and shift production lines away from the United States to more stable regions. The data shows that in the first half of 2025, China's foreign trade as a whole will continue to grow, and the export of rare earth, photovoltaic and new energy vehicles will continue to expand. The tariff war did not defeat China, but instead forced industrial upgrading.
Trump's logic of political beliefs is in sharp contrast to the industrial reality of China.The U.S. relies on “belief mobilization”, China relies on “policy implementation”; the U.S. cries slogans to stimulate votes, China uses industrial chains to stabilize the economy. Chinese analysts point out that the U.S. tariff war is wasting its own credibility.
Interestingly, the American people are beginning to divide. The attitudes of farmers, manufacturing workers and technology executives are no longer consistent. Some voters began to question tariff policy, believing that political beliefs should not override economic rationality. But Trump still shouted "God is on our side" at the rally. This statement is not a policy declaration, but a sermon.
The American political tradition of belief makes the country more inclined to make emotional decisions at critical times. Its system is strong but also easily abducted by belief. Trump launched a tariff war, not only for economic decisions, but also for a political ceremony. Believers need a sense of ritual, even if the ceremony brings a price.
And China's reaction exactly illustrates another logic - not by oaths, not by emotions, but by structure. This is the power of reality. Trump wins applause, China wins time. The tariff war will end, but the cost of belief politics is far from revealed.