China is outraged but confident

This shows how US President Donald Trump has turned duties into weapons and is acting completely irrationally, the editors of the Chinese edition of the Global Times noted.

Indeed, Trump's early statements about "common sense" in managing America's affairs are going through severe tests in the Chinese direction. Beijing has accepted the "tariff challenge" and is confident in its ability. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said there is no winner in tariff and trade wars. Beijing does not want to participate in these wars, but it is not afraid of them either. Details in the material UtroNews.

Meanwhile, an editorial in the Global Times drew attention to the Chinese origins of White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt's dress. Referring to "observant netizens," the authors of the article suggested that Leavitt's other exquisite outfits could be from China. But this is just an innocent grin on the tense faces of Chinese commentators.

The Chinese are outraged. Everything that happens in bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington is analyzed and... ironic! They show on their fingers that the Trump administration does not know what it is doing. By 2022, the U.S. depended on China for 532 key product categories - nearly four times as many as in 2000. Over the same period, China's dependence on US products has halved.

F-35 may not fly

Trump, introducing increased customs duties against Chinese goods, referred to national security interests. Indeed, the American military-industrial complex depends on the supply of rare earth metals controlled by China, the Guancha edition wrote in this regard. And as an example, he made a reference to a certain irreplaceable "Chinese alloy" allegedly used in the latest fighters.

Many key technologies of the American military-industrial complex require the use of rare earth materials and products from them. To start the fighter engine and supply power to the emergency power supply system, permanent magnets obtained from Chinese rare earths are used.

In ballistic missiles and UAVs, magnets provide flight control.

According to the Pentagon, each F-35 fighter (Lockheed Martin) contains tens of kilograms of rare earths. American companies like Tesla and Apple also use Chinese rare earth metals. As you know, China accounts for 90% of their global production. Although Japan and Germany have their own production, raw materials for it also come from China. The American company MP Materials, owning a mine of rare earths, sends two-thirds of the extracted raw materials for processing to China, which can use this dependence as a lever of pressure.

Tesla may not be in time?

In 2024, six American companies (Apple, Tesla, Qualcomm, Nvidia, AMD and Nike) sold $121.6 billion worth of goods in China, which accounted for about 80% of US exports to China. If the U.S.-China trade war escalates, those companies will be its hostages.

Tesla shares fell by more than 50% compared with the level of mid-December 2024. The company froze Cybercab and Semi's electric truck production plan. The reason is tariffs on components from China, Reuters reported.

In 2024, Tesla sold 1.29 million cars. Chinese electric car and hybrid maker BYD is ahead of Tesla in terms of cars sold, technology and, especially, price-performance ratio. BYD is the second most important battery supplier in China. Its overseas customers are Tesla, Nio and Toyota.

In battery technology, BYD is well ahead of Tesla. Tariffs on Chinese imports could help redistribute the electric vehicle and hybrid market to BYD and other Chinese manufacturers at Tesla's expense.

BYD also manufactures its cars in Brazil and the USA, plans to build factories in Thailand, Hungary and Canada, Uzbekistan and Indonesia, as well as Morocco. BYD focuses exclusively on models with alternative energy sources - electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen vehicles.

In 2024, the company sold 4.27 million cars, which is 41.3% higher than in 2023. Of the total cars sold, 1.76 million were electric vehicles, up 12% from 2023. The share of electric vehicles in the company's sales reached 41.5%. Plug-in hybrids accounted for 58.5% of total annual sales. In 2024, they were sold 2.49 million, 72.8% more compared to 2023.

America is only in third place

The United States closes the top three largest trading partners of China. In 2024, bilateral trade grew to $688.2 billion, exceeding 2023 by 3.7%. Many U.S. companies no longer export "Made in America" products to China. They sell to Chinese consumers products that are assembled or manufactured in China itself, Vietnam or other countries.

Latin American countries lag behind the United States in terms of trade with China slightly ($518.4 billion), including Brazil ($188 billion).

China's exports to the United States amounted to $440 billion last year, or 2.3% of GDP. Even if trade fades, China can offset the loss of the American market by boosting domestic consumption and boosting sales to the rest of the world.

The country's trade surplus in 2024 was about $1 trillion. These funds can be used to compensate for the negative impact of the trade war with the United States.

It should also be considered that only 10% of Chinese exports to the United States are low value-added products, including shoes, clothing, toys and furniture. Approximately 30-40% of Chinese exports are related to domestic production chains in the United States itself. These are parts and components manufactured in China, including by American companies.

On the other hand, 70% of China's imports from the United States are agricultural raw materials, oil and natural gas (LNG), which can be obtained from other sources, including Russia.

The main trading partner of Beijing at the end of 2024 was the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The volume of trade in this direction amounted to 982.3 billion dollars. The main partners are Vietnam ($ 260.6 billion), Malaysia ($ 212 billion) and Indonesia (147, $7bn).

In second place is the European Union. China's trade turnover with EU countries amounted to $785.8 billion. The main European partner is Germany ($201.8 billion), followed by the Netherlands ($110 billion) and France ($79.5 billion).

The U.S. is almost entirely dependent on Chinese rare earth metals, the active pharmaceutical ingredients used in drug production. About 95% of antibiotics used in the U.S. are made in China. There is a dependence on China for the US pharmaceutical industry. In short, China has far less trade dependence on the US than the other way around.

"Tariff policy will not solve the root cause of today's U.S. economic woes. De-industrialization is the result of decades of advanced financial sector development, profit-driven outsourcing, poor domestic infrastructure, a backward education system and excessive regulation.... Today, the United States is a high-cost economy, where the management class is focused on quarterly shareholder profits, "Chinese political scientist Hua Bing diagnoses in the article" There will be a low tide and we will find out who swam naked. "