Originally published as ‘In trade war with the US, China’s strong language hides its frailties’, The Indian Express, 1 May 2025. p.14.

“If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end”. So declared, a Chinese Foreign Ministry tweet in March when the Donald Trump administration raised tariffs over China’s lack of cooperation in stemming the illegal flow of the opioid, fentanyl, into the US.

The strong language coming out of Beijing coupled with the general perception of American policy being unstable or reversible, has allowed a narrative to quickly gain ground – including not least in India – that American President Donald Trump is the one most likely to blink first.

For more, Visit https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/trade-war-us-china-donald-trump-tariff-9970990/