Heated US-China trade war could put fire in Beijing’s belly: scholars

With trade tensions between China and the United States reignited less than two weeks before a major political gathering in Beijing, Chinese scholars said the flare-up could provide a common cause for the country to rally behind as policymakers take steps to protect technological development and national security.

“Pressure, whether from internal or external sources, has the potential to foster unity,” said Yang Jianwen, a senior economic researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. “This is our national character: external pressure can be transformed into motivation.”

Tensions between the world’s two largest economies ratcheted up last week amid a barrage of economic sanctions, export controls and threats of triple-digit tariffs. Numerous punitive actions have been employed, despite months of negotiations and multiple extensions of a temporary truce after the conflict reached its peak in April.

The newest battleground is the shipping sector, with both sides imposing port fees on each other’s vessels starting Tuesday. On the same day, Beijing announced it would sanction five US-based subsidiaries of South Korean shipping giant Hanwha Ocean over what it views as collaboration with American efforts to constrain China’s maritime and shipbuilding industries.

From Beijing’s perspective, the latest escalation began with the US, and China’s actions are calibrated, reciprocal responses, according to Wang Dan, China director for Eurasia Group.

“This sets a tone for the fourth plenum that China will emphasise a long-term, steady strategy, staying the course without yielding to US pressure or altering its economic plans,” Wang said.

The plenum, a meeting of the ruling Communist Party’s powerful Central Committee, is scheduled to run from October 20 to 23.

South China Morning Post