‘4D chess’: China walks into Trump trap

Donald Trump’s plan to pause tariffs on most countries except for China was the US President’s “strategy all along”, the Secretary of the Treasury said.

Donald Trump’s surprise plan to pause tariffs on most countries – except for China – was a calculated measure by the President who “goaded” them “into a bad position”, the US Secretary of the Treasury has claimed.

Mr Trump announced on Wednesday the US will increase tariffs on China to a whopping 125 per cent.

He made the announcements at the same time as he kicked off a 90 day pause to the higher tariffs for the rest of the world.

Tariffs on 104 per came into focus against China on Wednesday at midnight.

Mr Trump announced the US will increase tariffs on China to a whopping 125 per cent. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

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Mr Trump said the upping of import taxes on Beijing was because it has retaliated by matching the US’ tariffs against it.

“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately,” he wrote.

“At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realise that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”

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Speaking at a press conference outside the White House, US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said the drastic change to the tariff policy was Mr Trump’s “strategy all along”.

“You might even say that he goaded China into a bad position,” he said.

“They responded. They have shown themselves to the world to be the bad actor.”

Mr Bessent said the US is willing to co-operate with trading partners who did not retaliate.

“It wasn’t a hard message: don’t retaliate, things will turn out well.”

The bold move – which has left China isolated – was praised by many online.

“Scott Bessent says Trump didn’t just raise tariffs — he set a trap, and China walked right into it. This is what 4D chess looks like,” one US journalist who goes by the online moniker ‘The Vigilant Fox’, wrote on X.

“Markets are rebounding after President Trump slapped a 125 per cent tariff on Chinese imports while giving a 90-day pause to other countries. The result? China stands alone — and completely exposed.”

“This is what we call the art of the deal,” another social media user wrote, seemingly referring to Mr Trump’s 1987 best-selling book with journalist Tony Schwartz Trump: The Art of the Deal.

“This is 5D Underwater Chinese Checkers!” another quipped.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the change to the tariffs was Donald Trump’s “strategy all along”. Picture: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

It’s not clear if the 125 per cent tariff is the cumulative amount of all US tariffs on China. In which case it would be a further 21 per cent tariff on top of the 104 per cent put in place yesterday.

Or if it’s an extra 125 per cent – in which case it would be 229 per cent. Which would be a lot.

Earlier on Wednesday, China announced it wild raise its tariff on US goods from 34 per cent to 84 per cent.

That increase matched the additional 50 per cent tariff recently added by the Trump administration.

Mr Bessent said Mr Trump “goaded China into a bad positions”. Picture: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

It comes as the yuan ended domestic trading today at 4.3498 to the dollar, the lowest it has been in 17 years.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian promised “firm and forceful” measures to combat the US, shortly after China’s commerce ministry vowed to “fight them until the end”.

“History and facts have proven that the United States’ increase in tariffs will not solve its own problems,” the policy statement read.

“Instead, it will trigger sharp fluctuations in financial markets, push up US inflation pressure, weaken the US industrial base and increase the risk of a US economic recession, which will ultimately only backfire on itself.”