"Instead China may decide to collapse entire key sectors of the US economy, using its rare earths card."
I expect China would prefer to do as little as possible, just as up until now its visible reactions have been fairly passive. Remember, the last thing you want to do to a nuclear power is openly to defeat it or otherwise humiliate it. Plus, to modernize the Napoleonic maxim: "Never escalate when you're winning and your enemy is continuing to make mistakes".
I suspect your final maxim is closest to the Chinese strategy. The Chinese have been passive only by comparison with Trump's over the top rhetoric. In fact they've been very firm with their warnings and in their actions in response to the trade war. In a way it reminds one of the way the West failed to take Putin seriously for most of two decades while he kept warning that patience would run out.
Sobering analysis of how the first trade war actualy played out in real terms. The data on China's export diversification and that historic $1 trillion surplus really tells the story beter than any rhetoric can. I remember watching small businesses in my area struggle with those tariff costs, nobody seemed to understand where the pain was actually landing. Your point about BRICS militarization being the unintended consequence is something people aren't discussing nearly enough right now.
It is clear China can remain solvent longer than Trump can remain rational. Yet all of Trump's statements and actions, no matter how irrational, have impacts on real world geopolitics and economics. Some financial players are now starting to push back:
"Present quantities and circumstances of the imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and their derivative products threaten to impair national security."
China is not sitting still, either. Trump had allowed the sale of the h200 chips to China a short time ago. But now this:
What percentage of the stock market is NVDA, again?
"Instead China may decide to collapse entire key sectors of the US economy, using its rare earths card."
That is a "Trump card" in China's hand indeed. One wonders how the Trump admin refuses to see this and why the Trump admin continues to provoke China while hurting U.S. companies and its economy at the same time.
China, the civilized state, addressing the failed business man. Ouch. What else has business man Trump done lately? Oh yea, invaded another country and threw a coup (after spending $ billions to have US military carriers + other ships, but not frigates, on the scene for months) only to find out that the stolen oil properties (captured treasure chests) aren't lucrative assets for investors---therefore, no collateral for maintaining Dollar reserve currency....
Funny how Trump keeps harping that Iran must stop the executions. Is he talking about the hundreds of Mossad (and CIA and MI6) agents who were coordinating the “protests” and were caught with the help of Russian technology which shut down Starlink communications and helped track down the users? FAFO
His warmongering and rejection of International Treaties and Laws betrays his growing desperation and weakness, both personal as well as that of the country he is supposed to be making great but is instead highlighting what an Orwellian parody it has become. Not that European country 'leaders' and particularly in the UK and Germany are doing anything different either, but horrifyingly continue to try and keep pretending that its business as normal for 'the good guys' (and if you don't agree you must be a terrorist).
China is our second-largest trading partner, and the world’s second largest economy. A pragmatic and constructive relationship between our nations will create greater stability, security, and prosperity on both sides of the Pacific.
Canada also wants to keep its real estate market elevated by allowing rich Chinese buyers to continue to park their money in housing, to the detriment of low and middle class Canadian families
I like this: "A civilized state [China] speaking to a failed businessman."
Trump bankrupted the US during his first term, and he's well on his way to doing it again. If I'm a farmer, am I planting soybeans this Spring? Is Trump going to pay them to NOT plant?
Hey, have you noticed that once Pam Bondi claimed that SDNY found another 1 million files, Trump shot up innocent boaters, kidnapped Maduro, tried to kill Putin, threatened to steal Greenland, and now wants to attack Iran because they are punishing dissent.
If I didn't know better, I'd say the Trump administration and our corrupt media have used one distraction after another to avoid talking about the #EpsteinCoverup. ;)
Have sanctions ever actually achieved any positive results? The idea supposedly is to make others grovel before the almighty swamp Emperor. It ain't working.
Every time that I see people talking about the fact that Trump is playing 3-D or 4D chess I just laugh. He can barely play checkers. The fact that he is fool so many people into thinking he is this brilliant, businessman, and genius who knows how to deal with the world and outsmart. All of these people is absurdity.
I have been on free Republic for almost 30 years , It started out as and what it is now is two different things. It doesn’t want a diversity of ideas it doesn’t want debate it is you’re either on the Trump train or you’re not. People on there now gobble up all of this Kool-Aid like it total gospel with that, questioning any of it., yet a Democrat president were doing all of the authoritarian things that Trump is doing right now there would be total condemnation of this person on that site. I find the hypocrisy and the mendacity staggering.
"Instead China may decide to collapse entire key sectors of the US economy, using its rare earths card."
I expect China would prefer to do as little as possible, just as up until now its visible reactions have been fairly passive. Remember, the last thing you want to do to a nuclear power is openly to defeat it or otherwise humiliate it. Plus, to modernize the Napoleonic maxim: "Never escalate when you're winning and your enemy is continuing to make mistakes".
I suspect your final maxim is closest to the Chinese strategy. The Chinese have been passive only by comparison with Trump's over the top rhetoric. In fact they've been very firm with their warnings and in their actions in response to the trade war. In a way it reminds one of the way the West failed to take Putin seriously for most of two decades while he kept warning that patience would run out.
Sobering analysis of how the first trade war actualy played out in real terms. The data on China's export diversification and that historic $1 trillion surplus really tells the story beter than any rhetoric can. I remember watching small businesses in my area struggle with those tariff costs, nobody seemed to understand where the pain was actually landing. Your point about BRICS militarization being the unintended consequence is something people aren't discussing nearly enough right now.
It is clear China can remain solvent longer than Trump can remain rational. Yet all of Trump's statements and actions, no matter how irrational, have impacts on real world geopolitics and economics. Some financial players are now starting to push back:
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/everythings-table-jpm-cfo-signals-possible-fight-trump-over-credit-card-rate-cap
Yet Trump keeps pushing the envelope:
https://seekingalpha.com/news/4539265-trump-issues-proclamation-imposing-25-percent-tariff-on-nvidia-h200-amd-mi325x-chips
"Present quantities and circumstances of the imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and their derivative products threaten to impair national security."
China is not sitting still, either. Trump had allowed the sale of the h200 chips to China a short time ago. But now this:
https://seekingalpha.com/news/4539004-chinas-customs-agents-told-not-to-allow-nvidias-h200-chips-to-enter-country
What percentage of the stock market is NVDA, again?
"Instead China may decide to collapse entire key sectors of the US economy, using its rare earths card."
That is a "Trump card" in China's hand indeed. One wonders how the Trump admin refuses to see this and why the Trump admin continues to provoke China while hurting U.S. companies and its economy at the same time.
Problem is, the US can still bomb people and overthrow governments, force dollar usage. And China has little in a projectable military to stop that.
China, the civilized state, addressing the failed business man. Ouch. What else has business man Trump done lately? Oh yea, invaded another country and threw a coup (after spending $ billions to have US military carriers + other ships, but not frigates, on the scene for months) only to find out that the stolen oil properties (captured treasure chests) aren't lucrative assets for investors---therefore, no collateral for maintaining Dollar reserve currency....
Funny how Trump keeps harping that Iran must stop the executions. Is he talking about the hundreds of Mossad (and CIA and MI6) agents who were coordinating the “protests” and were caught with the help of Russian technology which shut down Starlink communications and helped track down the users? FAFO
His warmongering and rejection of International Treaties and Laws betrays his growing desperation and weakness, both personal as well as that of the country he is supposed to be making great but is instead highlighting what an Orwellian parody it has become. Not that European country 'leaders' and particularly in the UK and Germany are doing anything different either, but horrifyingly continue to try and keep pretending that its business as normal for 'the good guys' (and if you don't agree you must be a terrorist).
Canada seems to have received Trump's message:
Mark Carney @MarkJCarney
17h
I’m headed to Beijing.
China is our second-largest trading partner, and the world’s second largest economy. A pragmatic and constructive relationship between our nations will create greater stability, security, and prosperity on both sides of the Pacific.
Canada also wants to keep its real estate market elevated by allowing rich Chinese buyers to continue to park their money in housing, to the detriment of low and middle class Canadian families
This is as Sean Foo predicted. Canada needs to diversify the markets for its oil.
This post hit another home run!
I like this: "A civilized state [China] speaking to a failed businessman."
Trump bankrupted the US during his first term, and he's well on his way to doing it again. If I'm a farmer, am I planting soybeans this Spring? Is Trump going to pay them to NOT plant?
Hey, have you noticed that once Pam Bondi claimed that SDNY found another 1 million files, Trump shot up innocent boaters, kidnapped Maduro, tried to kill Putin, threatened to steal Greenland, and now wants to attack Iran because they are punishing dissent.
If I didn't know better, I'd say the Trump administration and our corrupt media have used one distraction after another to avoid talking about the #EpsteinCoverup. ;)
Your penultimate paragraph is a handy "greatest hits" of Trump's MAGA betrayals.
Amusing observation I saw this morning that Trump is the perfect-storm combination of LBJ's ego and Nixon's thin skin. What could possibly go wrong?
Have sanctions ever actually achieved any positive results? The idea supposedly is to make others grovel before the almighty swamp Emperor. It ain't working.
Did some say "blocks" ?
An old X post of mine :-):
He's not playing chess - he's playing with building blocks
Every time that I see people talking about the fact that Trump is playing 3-D or 4D chess I just laugh. He can barely play checkers. The fact that he is fool so many people into thinking he is this brilliant, businessman, and genius who knows how to deal with the world and outsmart. All of these people is absurdity.
I have been on free Republic for almost 30 years , It started out as and what it is now is two different things. It doesn’t want a diversity of ideas it doesn’t want debate it is you’re either on the Trump train or you’re not. People on there now gobble up all of this Kool-Aid like it total gospel with that, questioning any of it., yet a Democrat president were doing all of the authoritarian things that Trump is doing right now there would be total condemnation of this person on that site. I find the hypocrisy and the mendacity staggering.
it's like thinking that Hulk Hogan could whip Fedor