23 February 2025

How China can really pivot to the Global South

Xiaochen Su

The latest actions from the Trump administration have reaffirmed the imperative for Chinese firms to reduce their dependence on the American market.

Trump’s 10% additional tariffs on all Chinese imports have predictably invited Chinese countermeasures. And markets remain fearful that Trump will continue threatening the 60% tariffs on all Chinese goods he promised to impose while on the campaign trail.

The risk of destabilization in Sino-American trade was further evidenced by Trump’s decision to scrap the $800 de minimis loophole on packages shipped into the US. If he did not hold implementation at the last minute, the US business of Chinese cross-border e-commerce firms like Temu and Shein, making up 60% of all de minimis packages, would have been wiped out overnight.

As Trump systematically restricts Chinese imports, European leaders may follow suit to stem a deluge of manufactured goods redirected from America. The European Union’s October 2024 decision to impose tariffs on “unfairly subsidized” Chinese electric vehicles may be a harbinger of an increasingly restrictive trade relationship with China, especially as Europe seeks to develop its strategic autonomy in high-value, future-oriented industries supporting its technological and green-energy ambitions.

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