Tensions have soared over the last four days between the U.S. and China, and have possibly thrown out the planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping at the Friday, Oct. 31-Saturday, Nov. 1 APEC Summit. The tensions began on Oct. 9, when China imposed moderate export restrictions on technologies related to rare earth minerals and refining capabilities. China refines 85% of rare earth oxides worldwide, making it a significant shock to the U.S.
President Trump immediately went into a fit, posting t his TruthSocial on Oct. 10, that he knew it has been China’s “plan for quite some time,” and calling it “a rather sinister and hostile move.” Trump also announced that he would impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports starting Nov. 1 and export controls on “any and all critical software.” Later on Oct. 10, China imposed a port fee on U.S. ships unloading at Chinese ports, a fee which ABC News estimated could cost the world’s top carriers $3.2 billion next year.
So, what sparked this recent escalation? On Oct. 11, China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesperson pointed to the U.S.-China trade meeting in Madrid in September, in which the representatives agreed to move forward their joint relations and trade talks respectfully. In the 20 days since then, however, the U.S. has done the opposite. On Sept. 29, the U.S. Commerce Department put multiple Chinese entities on the Entity List and Special Designated National List, effectively imposing 50% sanctions on the designated companies. In addition, the U.S. also “expanded the scope of control over businesses with the Affiliates Rule that affects thousands of Chinese companies; and persisted with the implementation of Section 301 measures targeting China’s maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries in disregard of China’s concerns and goodwill,” the spokesperson said.
