How has US-China trade evolved under President Trump?

This appeared in The Millennial Source

As President Donald Trump’s term now comes to an end, the future of US-China relations will likely remain volatile under President-elect Joe Biden.

The United States’ trade relationship with China has dominated President Donald Trump ‘s time in office, which shouldn’t come as any surprise given the president’s tough talk on China during his 2016 presidential campaign.

During that campaign, Trump often spoke critically of US-China trade relations, at one time claiming that China was responsible for “the greatest theft in the history of the world” in its trade with the US.

Despite Trump’s harsh rhetoric, the US and People’s Republic of China agreed on a “Phase One” trade deal in January 2020, which Trump claimed to be the first step in a more equitable relationship between the two countries.

Much has changed since then. The Trump administration has intensified its economic conflict with China during the coronavirus pandemic, targeting, in particular, Chinese-owned social media apps and the Chinese technology industry’s access to crucial semiconductor technology.

With a new administration set to take the reins in January 2020, TMS looks at where the US-China trade deal stands now.