Finance & economics | Blow-for-blow

How China will strike back at Trump

Xi Jinping has set out his tariff red lines. What if America crosses them?

Collage of Xi Jinping and Donald Trump facing off.
Illustration: Klawe Rzezcy/Getty Images
|Shanghai

Who is Huohuade Lutenike? Howard Lutnick, the billionaire nominee to lead America’s Commerce Department, is not well known in China. But he may end up shaping American trade policy. Since Donald Trump announced his pick, Chinese investors have scrambled for information. More than anything, they want to know if Mr Lutenike will slap Mr Trump’s proposed 60% tariffs on all Chinese imports. Such efforts have only gained urgency in the past fortnight. The president-elect has threatened an additional tariff on Chinese goods on his first day in office, while the sitting president has ratcheted up export controls.

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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “With a vengeance”

From the December 7th 2024 edition

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