CW.395.VIKING BOER – CHINA WATCH – USA Trade War Is Hurting China

[VIKING BOER]

CW.395.VIKING BOER – CHINA WATCH – USA Trade War Is Hurting China
How the USA Trade War Is Hurting China’s Economy?

Mar 11, 2025
How the USA Trade War Is Hurting China’s Economy?
In 2018, China exported over $539 billion worth of goods to the United States while importing only $120 billion in return – creating a massive trade imbalance of more than $400 billion in a single year. This documentary explores the far-reaching consequences of the ensuing trade war between the world’s two largest economies, with a special focus on how China’s economy has been transformed by this ongoing conflict.
The trade war, which began in 2018 under the Trump administration, was initiated to address what the United States considered unfair trading practices, intellectual property theft, and an unsustainable trade deficit with China. What started with aluminum and steel tariffs quickly escalated into a full-scale economic confrontation, with both sides imposing tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of each other’s goods.
This documentary takes viewers inside the manufacturing heartland of China, where the effects of this economic conflict are most visible. Once-bustling factories in cities like Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Suzhou now face production slowdowns, with some shutting their doors completely. Workers who had spent decades in the manufacturing sector suddenly find themselves unemployed as orders from American companies decline.
Beyond the immediate impact of tariffs, we investigate how the trade war has accelerated the trend of supply chain diversification. Multinational corporations, seeking to reduce their exposure to US-China trade tensions, have begun relocating production facilities to countries like Vietnam, Thailand, and Mexico. This shift, while already underway due to rising Chinese labor costs, has gained momentum as a direct result of the trade war.
The documentary provides an in-depth analysis of how China’s technology sector, which the government had identified as a key driver of future economic growth, has been particularly affected. American restrictions on technology transfers to China and limitations on Chinese technology companies’ access to US markets have complicated Beijing’s ambitions to become a global leader in advanced technologies.
For everyday Chinese citizens, the trade war has introduced a level of economic uncertainty previously unknown to a generation that had grown up during China’s economic boom. Consumer confidence declined, retail sales growth slowed, and inflation became a concern as tariffs and supply chain disruptions pushed up prices of certain goods.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction: The $400 billion trade imbalance
01:30 – Origins of the US-China trade war
02:45 – Impact on China’s manufacturing sector
04:15 – Factory closures and worker displacement
05:30 – Supply chain diversification away from China
07:00 – Effects on China’s technology ambitions
08:30 – Case study: Huawei and the semiconductor challenge
10:00 – Financial market impacts and currency pressure
11:15 – Effects on Chinese consumer confidence and spending
12:30 – China’s fiscal and monetary policy responses
13:45 – The “dual circulation” strategy explained
15:00 – Regional integration: RCEP and the Belt and Road Initiative
16:30 – Small and medium enterprises: The hardest hit
18:00 – Impact on China’s economic reform agenda
19:15 – Innovation push and technological self-reliance
20:30 – The broader geopolitical implications
22:00 – Long-term outlook: Has the trade war reshaped China’s economy?
23:30 – Conclusion: Answering the question of who loses the most
********************************

[Author]

Posts