UNDERSTANDING DONALD TRUMP’s intentions has bedevilled China since he took office. So it continued this week when the American president made comments that could signal a big escalation in the two countries’ trade war—or that a resolution is near. “I think we’ll make a great deal with China,” he told Fox News in an interview. But, he added, if talks sputter, America will impose tariffs on all goods from China. Having already hit $ 250bn-worth of annual Chinese imports with tariffs, America could target the remaining $ 267bn.
A bilateral meeting between Mr Trump and Xi Jinping, China’s president, later this month at a G20 summit in Buenos Aires should determine which outcome is more likely. First, though, Mr Xi will be pressing China’s case in the court of global opinion. On November 5th he will open a huge trade show in Shanghai designed to demonstrate to the world that China’s…
