US-China Trade War: Who Will Blink First?
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are betting their countries can withstand a prolonged stand-off
By Sam Fleming, James Politi, and Tom Mitchell
On Thursday morning, as Walmart delivered a stark warning that Donald Trump’s widening trade war with China would lead to higher prices for American consumers, John Flynn stood in front of one of the US retailer’s stores in Virginia defiantly defending the US president.
“I think he’s doing the right thing, America is becoming very dependent on stuff from China,” said Mr Flynn, a 55-year-old real estate agent who grew up in the steel country of western Pennsylvania. “If prices go up, prices go up. It’s going to hurt them [the Chinese] in the long run too. So it’s just a matter of who blinks first,” he said, as he stepped into his Honda Accord.
Mr Flynn’s words from the parking lot in Manassas — near the site of the first major land battle of the American civil war — will give Mr Trump comfort that he can prevail in the biggest economic gamble of his presidency.
Two weeks ago, he balked at an agreement that was coming together to reset trade relations with China, accusing officials in Beijing of reneging on their commitments. Instead, Mr Trump moved to impose billions of…
