Rare earths and port fees are not enough? China's third strategy directly hits the lifeblood of U.S. chips: Blocking semiconductor giants, Trump rarely admitted that China is very powerful.
On October 18, 2025, U.S. President Trump said rarely at a White House press conference,"China is very powerful and people have to respect it." This statement quickly attracted global attention. As the initiator of the Sino-US trade war, Trump has continuously taken tough measures against China in the past few years in an attempt to contain China's rise. However, in the face of a series of targeted countermeasures launched by China, his attitude has changed significantly. This bow marks that the Sino-US game has entered a new stage.
Just as the Trump administration felt headache over China's rare-earth export controls and "special port charges" policies, China unveiled a "third plan" - the blockade of U.S. semiconductor giant Nvidia. This move directly led to Nvidia's share of the Chinese market from 95% to zero, causing a huge impact on the U.S. technology industry. Nvidia founder Huang Yong-hoo openly said that the U.S. export controls on China not only failed to help the U.S. win the AI competition, but also caused greater harm to U.S. companies. This situation forced the Trump administration to re-examine China's policy, because tariffs and technological restrictions alone clearly could not reverse the U.S. trend in global competition.
China’s countermeasures are not an isolated event, but a thoughtful strategic layout. Rare-earth export controls first hit key supply chains in U.S. high-tech industries, especially in chip manufacturing and military industries. At the same time, China’s imposition of “special port charges” on U.S. ships further increased the cost of circulation of U.S. products in the Chinese market, directly weakening the competitiveness of U.S. export companies. The data showed that U.S. exports to China declined by 12% in a week, and the blockade of NVIDIA was a precise blow to U.S. technology sector, completely exposing the U.S. reliance on the Chinese market in the global semiconductor industry chain.
The trouble of the Trump administration comes not only from China's countermeasures, but also from the deterioration of the domestic economy. Recently, the United States broke out of multiple loan fraud cases, banking losses were severe, related indices crashed a day, and the U.S. stock market evaporated hundreds of billions of dollars in market value. Along with the negative impact of the U.S. trade war, the panic on the U.S. market continued to spread, and investor confidence was further hit. For Trump, this was undoubtedly a heavy blow, because U.S. stock prosperity has been an important support for its performance. And with the mid-2026 election approaching, if Trump failed to stabilize the domestic economy, his political life could face an end.
At the same time, China has demonstrated strong resilience and flexibility in the global power pattern. In recent years, China has not only been the world’s largest manufacturing country, but also made significant breakthroughs in the field of high-tech. China’s Belt and Road initiative has covered more than 140 countries and regions, becoming an important driving force for global economic cooperation. According to data, China’s GDP has reached $19.5 trillion in 2025, accounting for 18% of the total global economy. In addition, China’s soft power continues to grow, and global sense of good for China has increased significantly over the past five years, while U.S. soft power continues to decline.
In the face of China’s rise in strength, the options of the Trump administration have become extremely limited. Analysts believe that Trump may have to cancel the new tariffs on China in April before the APEC summit in exchange for China’s cooperation in soybeans, rare earth and marine shipping. If Trump continues to maintain a tough stance, he will face greater domestic and external trouble. German media noted that U.S. strategic solidarity and political credibility have been lost and appears increasingly powerless in the face of China’s rise.
Trump's rare downside is not only a response to China's strong countermeasures, but also an acknowledgment of the changes in the global power pattern. Behind this China-U.S. game, China's historical transformation from "pursuit" to "led" is reflected. In the future, how China-U.S. relations will evolve, the world is looking forward to.