In the summer of 2018, when former President Donald Trump launched a trade war with Beijing, the Chinese economy was gaining on the United States, and popular opinion suggested it could soon become the world’s largest.

Despite the upbeat message, the threat of higher tariffs, following on increases during Trump’s first administration and additional hikes in import duties by the administration

Higher tariffs on Chinese exports will backfire, just increasing prices paid by consumers, while China can manage to weather the impact of such "external shocks", a senior Commerce Ministry official said Friday in Beijing.