Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, WPR Newsletter and Engagement Editor Benjamin Wilhelm curates the week’s top news and expert analysis on China.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump meet Saturday at the Group of 20 leaders’ summit in Osaka, Japan, as expected, the ongoing trade war will be at the top of the agenda. With negotiations at a standstill since May, the meeting is an opportunity to break the deadlock—and for Trump to back off his threats to impose tariffs on nearly all Chinese imports that are not already taxed.
A breakthrough was expected last month, until the U.S. accused China of trying to renegotiate the terms of a draft deal that had already been agreed to, leading Trump to more than double tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods. China retaliated with tariff hikes on $60 billion in U.S. goods, and the talks collapsed. Since then, the Trump administration has intensified its campaign against Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, effectively banning it from doing business with American companies. In turn, China, which dominates the global supply of rare-earth metals, has threatened to restrict the U.S. from rare-earth exports—which are used in smart phones, military equipment and other crucial technologies.