🇨🇳 From Diplomacy to Defiance: China's Shift in Dealing with Trump

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🕊️ Initial Approach: Charm and Engagement

• When Trump was first elected in 2016, China actively pursued a diplomatic relationship.

• Beijing aimed to manage the growing trade tension by establishing personal rapport with Trump, even allowing state media to be openly favorable toward him.

• Chinese officials hoped flattery and high-level talks would yield compromises, including over sensitive issues like TikTok, Taiwan, and trade.

📈 Tariff Escalation and Breakdown of Trust

• Trump's administration began imposing steep tariffs on Chinese goods—eventually reaching 145% in certain sectors.

• In response, China began recalibrating its strategy. The "charm offensive" shifted to strategic and ideological resistance.

• China now sees these tariffs as a long-term U.S. strategy of containment rather than a negotiation tactic.

⚔️ "Wartime" Mindset and Propaganda Drive

• Chinese authorities placed civil service officials on a "wartime footing", canceling vacations and increasing readiness.

• Messaging began invoking revolutionary rhetoric, such as Mao Zedong’s quote: "We will never yield."

• The narrative shifted from partnership to patriotic resistance, fueling domestic support for defiance.

💸 Economic Countermeasures

• China retaliated with 125% tariffs on American goods and refused to recognize future U.S. tariff hikes as legitimate.

• It also banned exports of key materials (like gallium and germanium) essential to U.S. defense and tech sectors.

• State-backed Chinese firms and private exporters began reducing or halting trade with U.S. companies altogether.

🌏 Diversifying Global Trade

• To reduce dependence on U.S. trade, China has:

  • Strengthened ties with Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America

  • Boosted regional partnerships through RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership)

  • Increased foreign direct investment in countries aligned with its long-term interests

• This shift aims to insulate China from Western economic coercion.

🧭 Strategic Takeaway

• China no longer expects diplomatic engagement with the U.S. to yield favorable outcomes.

• Instead, it has embraced a policy of long-term resistance, emphasizing economic self-reliance, technological independence, and global diversification.