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Asia

Yesterday

Xi Jinping and Donald Trump are showing no signs of backing down in the escalating trade war.

China hikes tariffs, says Trump’s trade war ‘has become a joke’

China’s commerce ministry said Donald Trump’s use of excessively high tariffs has become little more than a numbers game.

A Chinese investor looks at the boards in Shanghai.

China’s $2trn market rescue is just the start as trade war intensifies

State-linked funds stepped in to rescue Chinese stocks this week as the battle with the US intensified. But it’s an expensive exercise.

Neither Xi Jinping nor Donald Trump is giving any indication they are likely to back down. For both leaders, national pride is on the line.

Could China win a ‘fight to the end’ against Trump?

There is a real chance the two largest economies in the world decouple. If that happens, both will be competing to be the engine room, and the cornerstone, of global trade.

Hawke and Keating were wrong. There is a strong case for tariffs

The Hawke-Keating-Howard era got rid of tariffs. But in their place, they brought in a range of imposts that never existed before, or at least not to the same degree.

This Month

The question now is whether China’s economy can withstand an almost complete breakdown in trade with the US.

Battle-hardened China can survive Trump’s trade war: ex-envoy

Geoff Raby says the country’s transition from a low-cost producer of clothes and household goods to a centre of advanced manufacturing had made it more resilient.

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A worker at a Lego factory in Vietnam.

Beijing seeks to build alliances against US

Europe and South-East Asian countries are the best hope for China as it looks to build on commercial and strategic relationships in the region and beyond.

A worker at a garment workshop at Tangbudong Village at night in Guangzhou.

China’s factories face disaster in Trump’s trade war

Thousands of small factories with tiny profit margins have played a central role in China’s international competitiveness. Many could now struggle to survive.

China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian.

No, Ambassador Xiao, China is not a champion of free trade

It is not Trump’s tariffs but Chinese economic policies and practices over many decades that are the greater challenge to economic globalisation as we know it.

China has hit back at Trump’s tariffs quickly.

Defiant China escalates trade war, raises tariffs on US goods to 84pc

Beijing slapped another 50 per cent tariff on all American imports in direct response to Donald Trump ramping up levies on Chinese goods.

‘US hard to sell to now’: China’s exporters train sights on Australia

US tariffs of 104 per cent will force Chinese exporters to diversify. A flood of cheap goods could be good for consumers, but a weakened China is not good for Australia.

Standoff: US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping.

China thinks it will win this trade game of chicken. Here’s why

Market turmoil and cracks in support for Donald Trump’s tariffs have further cemented the view that Beijing need only wait a little longer for backlash to build.

The first morning train leaving Hatsushima station after the new building, made from 3D-printed components, was assembled in Arida, Japan.

How Japan built a 3D-printed train station in 6 hours

In the hours between the last train departing the night before and the first one arriving in the morning, workers put up an entirely new building.

A Japanese LNG tanker at a JERA thermal power station in greater Tokyo.

Japan warns on Dutton’s gas reservation policy

A Tokyo think tank says limiting sales into the regional spot market could “handicap” Australian producers and trim Japanese trading in South-East Asia.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The economic nuke China could still drop on Trump

Retaliatory tariffs may only be the beginning of Beijing’s counterattack, although one possibility would be devastating for both the US and China.

China has hit back at Trump’s tariffs quickly.

‘The sky won’t fall’: Beijing appeals for calm over tariff storm

Beijing said it has a range of tools to defend its economy from Trump’s trade war, but also acknowledged growth could take a hit, as China stocks plunged.

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‘Skip the Tesla’: China memes explode over Trump’s trade war

China’s netizens have flocked to the internet to mock Donald Trump over his tariff campaign, and many are calling on consumers to “buy China”.

China has hit back at Trump’s tariffs quickly.

‘All-round blockade’: Trump tariffs hit China’s offshore factories

Chinese companies that shifted operations to South-East Asia to save costs while getting around Trump tariffs during his first mandate are back in the firing line.

China has hit back at Trump’s tariffs quickly.

China hits back at Trump with 34pc tariffs, targeting goods crucial to US

The latest trade war exchange adds the rapid deterioration in the relationship between the world’s two biggest economies.

A protest against impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol outside the court in Seoul.

South Korea’s president ousted over martial law fiasco

The constitutional court removed Yoon Suk Yeol from office four months after his short-lived attempt to impose martial law sparked a prolonged political crisis.

A Honda Civic on display outside the company’s headquarters in Tokyo.

Japan paralysed by Trump’s double tariff hit

Japan’s economy is heavily reliant on its car makers, who are expected to suffer a crippling blow from Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

China has vowed to retaliate in the latest trade escalation.

Beijing vows retaliation as Trump targets China again

The latest impost, stacked on top of an earlier 20 per cent tariff, threatens to further ratchet up tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Mizuho Bank signage outside a branch near the Musashi Koyama Palm shopping arcade in Tokyo.

The Japanese trust banks even less now. The reason will surprise you

Customers have long stashed cash, jewels, housing deeds and whatever else they wanted to keep secure in safety deposit boxes. Now they’re having second thoughts.

Donald Trump is expected to target China on Liberation Day, but Xi Jinping is likely ready.

China has long been steeling itself for Liberation Day

As Washington readies new trade barriers, Beijing has been accelerating its plans to reduce reliance on exports to the United States for economic growth.

Hong Kong-based Jardine Matheson was once called the “most remarkable firm of traders to be involved in the opening up of China”.

Jardine Matheson, giant of Hong Kong commerce, charts new course as investor

The storied Anglo-Asian conglomerate was founded as an opium trader in 1832 and famous as an inspiration for James Clavell’s novels. The shift marks a new incarnation.

“Some Australian politicians just don’t get it,” says state-run Chinese media.

China embassy rejects ‘spy ship’ claims

The embassy has rejected claims that a Chinese vessel cruising along Australia’s southern coast is a “spy ship”, describing media reports as “smearing”.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/world/asia