Ongoing tensions between the US and China forecast an uncertain future

This appeared in The Millennial Source

For years, even before his presidency, Donald Trump has been an outspoken advocate for taking a hard line against China. Whether in addressing the ongoing trade imbalance, China’s behavior on the world’s stage, to his comments about China on the campaign trail, Trump entered the presidency promising a reevaluation of relations between the two countries.

So far, Trump’s approach has involved implementing tariffs on Chinese imports and revoking Hong Kong’s special trading privileges after the introduction of a new security bill that grants the Chinese government sweeping controls over the special administrative region (SAR).

Of the tensions between the United States and China, the trade war has proved to be the most economically damaging. While rebalancing trade with China has been a priority for the Trump administration, few anticipated that doing so would be resolved by imposing tariffs.

The first tariffs the Trump administration levied on China passed in January 2018 and others have been added in the time since.

What it means for China’s economy

The slowing down of China’s economy, coupled with US accusations of currency manipulation and…