Gordon Chang: US Has 'Upper Hand' Over China in Trade War

China's Rare Earth Embargo Tactic

• ⚠️ China announced it would stop sending the United States rare earth minerals, creating potential supply chain problems for high-tech weapon systems, fighter planes, and medical equipment.
• 💡 Gordon Chang argues this tactic is unlikely to succeed, as similar embargoes in the past have collapsed quickly because both sides need to trade.
• 💰 China has a significant merchandise trade surplus, meaning they have more to lose in a trade war.

Xi Jinping's Goals and US Leverage

• 🎯 Xi Jinping's intermediate goal is to destroy the United States, using trade as a primary weapon.
• 🧠 Despite China's efforts to use Wall Street and other sectors to pressure the US, Gordon Chang believes Donald Trump understands his leverage and will not concede.
• 🤝 The US economy is significantly larger than China's, giving the US the upper hand in economic disputes.

Bipartisan Approach to China

• 🇺🇸 Evelyn Farkas notes that confronting China has been a bipartisan issue for decades, with a past tendency to try and integrate China into the global fold.
• ⚖️ While Trump's tactics are debated, he is credited with attempting to confront China, a policy that the Biden administration has continued with existing tariffs.
• 📈 Farkas points out that current tariff policies are less clearly articulated and are applied broadly.

Global Economic Risks

• 📉 Both the US and China have much to lose in a trade war, and an