China has a strategy to counter Trump’s tariffs, but will it be enough to beat the US?
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The Chinese Communist Party is being backed into a corner by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs,
even if they’re only 145 percent , not 400 percent as Mr. Wonderful would like,
or 1776 percent as some people on the internet are clamoring for.
But China is fighting back—the only way they know how! With stubbornness
and skullduggery. Skullduggery is not a word that gets used enough in modern parlance.
Of course, there are the retaliatory tariffs…
And cutting off the US from critical exports.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Here are four more crazy slash utterly predictable ways China
is fighting back against Trump’s tariffs.
Number 1: diplomacy warfare.
This week, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is visiting Southeast Asia.
You mean the CCP is actually entering another country’s territory with consent for a change?
There’s a reason why he chose that as his *first* overseas trip in 2025.
Tons of Chinese investors and manufacturers have moved there.
And China has relied on them as shipping stopover points to get goods around US
tariffs and sanctions. What? This ship totally came from Vietnam, not China!
Trump knows this, which is why he initially threatened high tariffs on Southeast Asia.
Vietnam’s responding to this by eyeing crackdowns on some Chinese trade.
That’s something China wants to stop from happening,
which is why Xi made Vietnam his first stop.
While there, Xi signed a bunch of economic agreements.
And called for China and Vietnam to deepen building a community with a shared future,
And they might have a shared future. This is incredibly risky for Vietnam.
Trump paused tariffs on Vietnam for 90 days. If after that time is up,
Trump feels Vietnam is capitulating to China, those tariffs could go back in full force.
That should also be the concern for Xi’s next stop—Malaysia and Cambodia.
Malaysia is especially important.
It’s this year’s ASEAN chair.
And it’s set to host the first ever Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit, with China invited.
Ooh, never invite the CCP. They’re like vampires. Once you let them in,
they’ll suck you dry. And it’s likely they’ll claim your home was always a part of China.
While these tours are happening, Chinese state run media is churning out propaganda
Accusing the US of unilateral bullying.
While China is as “A reliable partner.”
Well, they certainly are reliable, if by that you mean predictable.
Yup, you can always rely on China to be utterly, utterly predictable.
China’s eyes aren’t just on Southeast Asia.
It’s also trying to woo Europeans with similar messages,
Like that China and the EU should jointly resist “unilateral bullying”...
And work together to safeguard global trade rules and justice.
In other words, the global trade system the CCP has weaponized.
Unfortunately, some in Europe are biting. Which once again proves that
just because someone has a European accent doesn’t mean they’re smart.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is one of them. He met with Xi Jinping in Beijing…
And is pushing the EU closer to China.
And it’s not just Spain.
The French foreign minister is also batting for a “Franco-Chinese partnership”…
And China and Ireland are seeking stronger ties.
Which makes sense if you think about it. After all,
just look at all that China has to offer the western world!
Yeah, that’s kind of a problem.
Which is why the CCP has unleashed an army of China-simp influencers upon the internet.
That brings me to the next strategy
Number 2: Psychological Warfare
To bolster Xi’s chances of success in Southeast Asia,
Pro-CCP influencers have been promoting how much Southeast Asians love China,
Touting how Chinese brands are everywhere in Malaysia…
And how people from Malaysia, Vietnam, and Laos just love Chinese movies and TV shows.
Yes, everyone loves China.
Especially the Philippines. Look at those skyscrapers. And high speed trains.
But the message that’s also being pushed is that China is more powerful than the US,
that tariffs against it are pointless and only hurt the US.
The conclusion: China is unstoppable. It already won.
China remains robust despite trade restrictions.
Meanwhile, Americans are needlessly suffering a war they already lost.
“In this tariff war, the only people
losing is American people.” , “When it comes to the USA,
we have never had the upper hand over China. “And just when Trump thought he was going to flex
up on China with his tariffs and trade war, they bitch-slapped us right back with transparency.”
“The actual machinery to manufacture at the quality that we need primarily exists in China.”
“So you can probably see why a fifty percent or even a two or three hundred percent tariff
would still not make me or almost any other business move to American manufacturing
for these sort of products. Because it still doesn’t make sense financially.”
So what are you waiting for? Come to China! Where you can get cheap Chinese crap…
…and hopefully not find yourself being
kidnapped for hostage diplomacy! It’s slightly cheaper, so it’s worth it!
But when warping the minds of your enemy isn’t enough, the CCP resorts to..
Number 3: Outright Deceit
Chinese companies are using outright lies and deception to get around tariffs.
Like I mentioned earlier, Trump is cracking down on the way China uses
third-party countries to escape tariffs and sanctions. He’s also
cracking down on other loopholes like the de minimis exception for China,
which allowed shipments of cheap Chinese crap to come in duty-free.
But Nikkei Asia reports that China’s logistics sector is challenging Trump’s tariff enforcers…
by helping merchants sidestep duties.
They’re offering what’s known as “double clearance and tax inclusive services”.
Here’s how it works.
Say you’re selling some Chinese honey.
A Chinese logistical provider will offer to handle
both export clearance in China and import clearance in the US.
This includes goods declarations and paying import duties, as well as other fees.
That Chinese logistical provider will do what’s called double invoicing. The logistical provider
shows one invoice to US customs authorities that undervalues the value of the honey, which leads to
reduced duties. Meanwhile, the buyers and sellers of that honey use a second invoice that reflects
the true transaction value. They categorize that invoice under a service not subject to tariffs…
…such as marketing.
Logistics providers are also outright lying in their invoices and falsifying
customs entry summaries to reduce tariffs owed.
So even with tariffs as high as 145 percent,
or 1776 percent,
Chinese manufacturers would only need to pay a little more in duties.
Meanwhile, “the logistics companies profit by pocketing the difference between what
they charge the manufacturers to cover customs and what they actually pay.”
And if you’re wondering why China is going to such complex, convoluted lengths to
avoid these tariffs instead of simply not being as awful anymore… great question!
So that takes care of China’s international image
and sidestepping the tariffs,
but what about those people at home who don’t much
care for the way the CCP is handling the situation? Those people do exist.
Because the Chinese people aren’t a homogenous blob that believes
everything they’re told to believe by the CCP. That’s the pro-CCP NPCs.
Which is why the last strategy is:
Number four: censorship!
Former deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Public Policy Research Center He
Bin criticized China’s tariffs on Chinese social media, saying they were “completely misguided”.
But he didn’t stop there.
He also said, “It’s like saying, ‘If you dare hit your wife, I’ll hit my wife.’”
Of course, China’s no stranger to being an abusive spouse even to its own people. So that
analogy doesn’t really work because China sees it and thinks, “Challenge accepted!”
He Bin also said, “The US raising tariffs is like lifting a rock only to drop it on
its own feet. We shouldn’t be doing the same to ourselves.”
China not doing something stupid and self-destructive
challenge? Difficulty: impossible.
To no one’s surprise, the Public Policy Research Center was officially scrapped.
I don’t know if I want to know what’s going
to happen to He Bin. He’ll probably wind up in a bin.
Meanwhile, China’s censoring tariff-related posts on social media.
They’ve been censoring hashtags and searches for words like “tariff” and “104” back when Trump’s
tariffs on Chinese goods were 104 percent. Meanwhile, Chinese state-run media is
pushing out local propaganda about how much tariffs are hurting the US,
With state-media initiated hashtags like, “America is fighting a trade war while begging for eggs”
And “China does not provoke trouble but is never afraid of it”
China doesn’t provoke trouble? You know what clip I’m about to show *again*, don’t ya?
This has to be a record.
Chinese media keeps insisting, both in print and on social media, that China is strong,
strong strong. Meanwhile, anything showing the negative impacts of Trump’s tariffs on China is
absolutely taboo on Chinese social media, because then that would show that the CCP has weaknesses.
And weakness is not something the CCP wants to ever show.
They want to show strength everywhere they go,
Whether they’re invited or not. Yup, officially broke the record showing these clips.
On that note, here’s something that’ll make the CCP weak to its knees!
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Once again, I’m Chris Chappell. See you next time.