China Escalates Trade War as Trump Isolates Xi in Tariff U-Turn

(Bloomberg) -- China has hit back at the US after Donald Trump’s dramatic reversal on tariff threats isolated Beijing as the primary target of his trade offensive, dimming the prospect of immediate de-escalation.

The Chinese government on Thursday said it will reduce the number of US films allowed to enter the country, hours after Trump imposed record duties on China’s imports and paused those on dozens other countries. The decision opens a new front in a confrontation that until now centered on the trade in goods and relied largely on tariffs and export controls as a means of retaliation.

The countermeasure came a day after Trump said he was expecting Beijing to call, suggesting that Chinese President Xi Jinping is intent on resisting US pressure despite growing headwinds for his economy.

“The Chinese don’t want to talk to the US when it looks like they’re outgunned,” Derek Scissors, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who previousl...
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