US President Donald Trump’s landmark visit to China comes as the US-Iran war disrupts global energy supplies, fuels economic uncertainty and adds fresh strain to Washington-Beijing ties. In this story, part of a series examining how rivalry, interdependence and geopolitical crises are reshaping the relationship between the two powers, we explore how the countries’ standing in the world has changed – mostly to China’s benefit – since Trump’s previous trip.
When US President Donald Trump unleashed an unprecedented volley of tariffs last spring, despite the threat the sky-high import duties represented for the export business of Chinese toymaker An’Best, the company did not feel the same panic it had during the trade war’s initial salvoes in 2018.
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“We are facing this new round of shocks with greater composure, preparation and resilience,” said Shi Qiaoyan, a human-resources manager at An’Best, which is based in Yangzhou, a city in eastern China’s Jiangsu province.
The calmer response, she noted, stemmed from efforts by the maker of plush toys and keychains to reduce its dependence on a single market over the intervening years, with firms in its industry mapping out new factory sites in Vietnam and Indonesia.
The company’s transition encapsulates an ongoing shift in the balance of power between the world’s two largest economies, as Beijing diversifies its trade relationships to minimise external vulnerabilities.
With Trump landing on Wednesday for his first visit to China in more than eight years, analysts said that unlike the era of his previous visit – when Beijing, constrained by its reliance on US markets and technology, agreed to purchase an additional US$200 billion in American exports – China has fortified its moats in a way that could alter the dynamic at the negotiating table.
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“China now has more cards to play in external resilience – across economic leverage, defence and international influence,” said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at French investment bank Natixis.