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05/04/2025

Unintended consequences: what if Mr. Trump was making China great instead of making America great again?

«As Donald Trump unleashes a volley of tariffs and his administration talks up the strength of its military alliances in Asia, you might think that these are anxious times in the country that America sees as its main adversary. In fact, our reporting from Beijing reveals a very different picture. MAGA is putting pressure on China’s leaders to correct their worst economic errors. It is also creating opportunities to redraw the geopolitical map of Asia in China’s favour. (...)

Mr Xi has been preparing for today’s chaotic world ever since becoming China’s leader in 2012. He has urged economic and technological self-sufficiency on his country. China has reduced its vulnerability to American chokeholds, such as sanctions and export controls. Although its banks still need access to dollars, it now makes most non-bank international payments in yuan.

China’s domestic economy has unrecognised strengths. Competition and an embrace of technology mean that its industrial firms thrash Western rivals in everything from electric vehicles to the “low-altitude economy”, meaning drones and flying taxis. Viewed from China, Mr Trump’s tariffs will condemn Detroit to 1970s-style obsolescence, just as his crusade against universities will set back innovation. (...)»

 How America could end up making China great again

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