China’s exports hold up but there are pain points |
In 2025, US President Donald Trump upended the global trading system. In April, he unveiled his policy of reciprocal tariffs, targeting nations across the world. Trump’s ire was particularly directed at Beijing, accusing it of unfair trade practices, and a pattern of “record setting tariffs, non-monetary tariffs, illegal subsidisation of companies, and massive long-term currency manipulation”. At one point, Trump raised the tariffs imposed on China to a peak of 145 per cent. The tariffs were, in part, meant to address the growing US trade deficit. Several months later, the effects of the........