China | Winning big

A great trade victory over America is being celebrated in China

But its negotiating triumph comes with two stings in the tail

Factory Production And Exports In China's Small Commodities Heartland
Photograph: Getty Images
|BEIJING

“China was being hurt very badly.” According to Donald Trump, the 90-day trade truce between America and China is a win for his administration and its tactics of kamikaze trade escalation. The view inside China is the exact opposite: America, faced with tanking markets and upset consumers, blinked. The truce is seen as a national triumph that has secured concessions, confirmed America’s low pain tolerance, raised gdp forecasts and made China a hero in the global south.

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