As Donald Trump steps up his tariff threats against China, Beijing is moving to beat the U.S. president-elect to the punch with its own restrictions and get Washington to the negotiating table ahead of a full-blown trade war, analysts say.
Armed with the lessons of the last trade war during Trump’s first term, China is seeking to amass bargaining chips to kick off talks with a new U.S. administration on contentious aspects of bilateral ties, including trade and investment, and science and technology. It is also concerned about the harmful effects of additional tariffs on its already-fragile economy.
This week, China launched a probe into U.S. chip giant Nvidia over what it claimed were suspected antitrust violations, which follows its ban on U.S.-bound exports of rare minerals.
