On the 19th (local time), Donald Trump, the U.S. President-elect, was seen wearing a red “MAGA hat” as he observed the sixth orbital test flight of SpaceX’s Starship at the Space Launch Facility “Starbase” located in Brownsville, Texas. According to Reuters on the 25th (local time), amid Trump’s announcement of plans to impose additional tariffs on China, the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. stated, “There are no winners in a trade and tariff war.”
According to the report, the Chinese Embassy declared, “China believes that economic and trade cooperation between China and the U.S. is essentially mutual benefit.” The embassy also directly refuted Trump’s claim that China had not done enough to combat drug trafficking.
President-elect Trump announced that, on his inauguration day, January 20th next year, he would impose an additional 10% tariff on top of the existing tariffs on China, citing drug inflow issues. He stated, “I have had many discussions regarding the significant amount of drugs, including fentanyl, flowing into the U.S., but to no avail,” and added, “Chinese government representatives told me they would impose the death penalty for drug trafficking, but unfortunately, they have not implemented it.”
During his candidacy, Trump had already indicated plans to impose tariffs over 60% if elected. If these promises materialize, it is expected that the U.S.-China trade disputes will enter a much more serious phase.