Chinese internet users anticipate tense US relations under Trump's second term

According to Voice of America Report, during his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to impose tariffs ranging from 60 per cent to 200 per cent on Chinese goods. In a Fox News interview on February 4, he stated that he would implement tariffs of over 60 per cent on Chinese imports but clarified that he did not intend to initiate a trade war with China.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump stated that he would impose taxes of 150 per cent to 200 per cent on China if Beijing chooses to "move into Taiwan."

The report stated that many Chinese internet users anticipate that Trump will fulfil his campaign promise to impose significant tariffs on Chinese goods, though opinions are divided on how these tariffs will impact the Chinese economy and their personal lives.

With China currently facing an economic slowdown, some social media users are concerned that Trump's return to the White House could intensify the financial strain on ordinary Chinese citizens.

A Chinese internet user in Beijing posted on the popular microblogging platform Weibo, which is akin to X "It's hard to look at Trump's victory with pure joy, because he is going to launch a trade war with China when he comes into power, and our economy will suffer further. How will the lives of normal citizens change? I'm feeling a sense of unease about the unpredictability of the future."

As reported by the Voice of America, some argue that the 60 per cent tariff on Chinese imports to the US proposed by Trump during his campaign would force Chinese companies to shift their exports from the US to alternative markets such as Southeast Asia, South America, and Europe.

While Chinese internet users have varied opinions about the tariffs that Trump has pledged to impose on Chinese imports, analysts warn that such a move could deliver a "significant blow" to China's economy, which is already grappling with a property crisis, high youth unemployment, and weak domestic demand.

Jacob Gunter, a political economy expert at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, told VOA by phone, "This would mark a shift from a focused tech war to a broader trade war, with a far greater impact on China's export-driven growth."

According to Gunter, Trump may use the tariffs as leverage to push China into making further trade concessions. After the Trump administration imposed tariffs of up to 25 per cent on USD 200 billion worth of Chinese goods in 2019, the two countries eventually reached a trade agreement in which China committed to increasing its purchases of American goods by at least USD 200 billion.

"Economic and political tensions between the two countries will inevitably rise, while the global economy and global supply chains will be thrown into chaos," Zhiqun Zhu, an expert on Chinese foreign policy at Bucknell University, told VOA in a written response.

In his opinion, while the relationship between China and the US during Trump's second term will largely be shaped by competition, there will still be opportunities for diplomacy and cooperation. (ANI)