The U.S. & China

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China counters President Trump with tariffs on US products China countered President Donald Trump’s across-the-board tariffs on Chinese products with tariffs on select U.S. imports Tuesday, as well as announcing an antitrust investigation into Google and other trade measures. Read more.

Why this matters: China said it would implement a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas products as well as a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars imported from the U.S. The tariffs would take effect next Monday.   U.S. tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico were to go into effect Tuesday, though Trump agreed to a 30-day pause on his threats as the countries acted to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking.

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?? Isenstadt book: China campaign hack

Hackers with ties to the Chinese government obtained access to internal communications from the Republican National Committee for three months last year, Axios' Alex Isenstadt writes in his new book "Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power," coming March 18.

• Why it matters: The Chinese breach — which hasn't been reported — was part of an intense barrage of cyber espionage attacks targeting top Trump and Republican Party officials during the campaign.

? Zoom in: The "Revenge" passage, reported by The Wall Street Journal this morning, reveals that Trump campaign and RNC officials didn't inform the FBI of the hack over fears that agents would leak news of the hack.

• Microsoft informed the campaign of the Chinese breach just before the assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pa., and the Republican convention in July.
• GOP officials "believed the Chinese wanted to find out if the party's platform would express support for Taiwan." The document, which was shortened to 16 pages from 58 in 2016, didn't end up mentioning the island.

? Between the lines: Around the same time, the campaign was targeted by hackers from Iran who gained access to the computer of co-campaign manager Susie Wiles (now White House chief of staff) and Trump ally Roger Stone, Isenstadt reports.

• "The hacking concerns spread from there. [Trump co-campaign manager Chris] LaCivita heard from law enforcement that the Iranians were trying to bust into his iPhone.
• "The FBI called [Trump campaign communications director] Steven Cheung to tell him his device was under intense assault by multiple foreign adversaries. Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan was also targeted."

Keep reading (gift link).

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China learned from Trump’s first trade war and changed its tactics when tariffs came again

Canada and Mexico's leaders got on the phone with President Donald Trump this past week to seek solutions after he slapped tariffs on their countries, but China’s president appears unlikely to make a similar call soon. Beijing has taken a different approach to Trump in his second term, making it clear that any negotiations should be conducted on an equal footing. Read more.

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?? Exclusive: China's favorability flip

Data: Morning Consult. (U.S. and Chinese respondents' views of their own country are excluded. Countries tracked include Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Spain and the U.K.) Chart: Axios Visuals U.S. trade policy is making China great again — at America's expense, Axios' Emily Peck writes from a Morning Consult analysis. Why it matters: The drop in America's reputation is already costing the country economically through a fall in foreign visitors turned off by White House policies, and even the decline of the dollar. Keep reading.

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?? America's tricky trade hand

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

If international trade is a game of chess, China has the U.S. in check — with few good options for the next move, Axios' Ben Berkowitz writes. Why it matters: The trade war has exposed just how deeply the U.S. economy is at the mercy of an accident of geology: China's supply of the rare earth minerals that power our modern high-tech society. ?️ The big picture: China's control of the global rare earths supply has left the U.S. playing defense in a trade war of its own design. China loosening up on rare earths exports was a key part of the trade truce the two countries struck in mid-May. But its slow-walking of those exports is now at the heart of another breakdown in the relationship. Between the lines: The White House says President Trump and China's President Xi Jinping will get on the phone and sort it out, but the call hasn't happened yet, and the Chinese side won't even confirm it's happening. Trump already hinted the call might not result in a breakthrough, posting to Truth Social that Xi was "extremely difficult" to negotiate with. Whatever leverage the Trump administration thought it had going into a spree of "90 deals in 90 days" has thus far not delivered much, and now courts are threatening to stand in the president's way. ? The intrigue: In absolute terms, rare earths imports are small, about $190 million a year, according to government data. But if you buy any of a list of more than 200 products, from cell phones to lasers, then you're buying something that can't be built without rare earths. The other side: The Trump administration's position is that China can't hold out economically and needs access to the American consumer. While China may have its rare earths to use as a cudgel, the U.S. believes it has weapons, too, like choking off China's largest export market.

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China says its exports to the US fell 35% in May, as trade talks are due to start in London China’s exports to the United States fell 35% in May from a year earlier, new customs data show, adding to pressure on the world’s second largest economy as a new round of trade talks with Washington was due to start in London. Read more.

Why this matters: Many businesses had rushed orders earlier in the year to try to beat higher tariffs. Once new import duties took effect, shipments slowed. Exports will likely rebound somewhat in June thanks to a 90-day suspension of most of the tariffs China and the U.S. imposed on each other in their escalating trade war, Zichun Huang of Capital Economics said in a report.   Since then, the U.S. and China have exchanged angry words over advanced semiconductors that power artificial intelligence, "rare earths" that are vital to carmakers and other industries, and visas for Chinese students at American universities.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ New disputes emerge ahead of US-China trade talks in London   Chinese hackers and user lapses turn smartphones into a 'mobile security crisis'   China’s Panchen Lama pledges loyalty to the Communist Party in a meeting with Xi

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US and China agree on plan to ease export controls after trade talks in London

The United States and China have agreed on a framework to implement their trade truce, officials on both sides said Wednesday, after concluding two days of talks in London to defuse tensions and ease export restrictions that threaten to disrupt global manufacturing.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/10/business/us-china-trade-talks-london-agreement-intl-hnk?

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? How China beat Detroit

Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios

The spectacular rise of China's auto industry — seemingly overnight — has rattled industry leaders and policymakers, catching many off guard, Axios Future of Mobility author Joann Muller writes. Why it matters: There's a dawning realization across the industry that China's ascendance is both an existential business threat and a national security risk. ? The big picture: Disruption is nothing new for automakers, but they've never had to contend with the mountain of complex issues they face now: tariffs, geopolitical tensions, shifting regulations, broken supply chains, AI and electrification. The emergence of powerful Chinese rivals, though, is a more ominous and permanent threat, experts agree. Foreign automakers' share of the Chinese market has collapsed. Everywhere else in the world — except the U.S. — Chinese brands are expanding, opening super-efficient factories and selling hybrids and EVs at prices no one else can touch. China makes 70% of the world's EVs and plug-in hybrids. Keep reading ..

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China-US trade talks conclude without deal to prevent tariffs from surging again

Chinese and American trade negotiators concluded their two-day meeting in Stockholm without a resolution to avert tariffs from skyrocketing back to ultra-high levels that formed an effective blockade on trade between the world’s two largest economies. But President Donald Trump’s trade advisers and their Chinese counterparts sounded a hopeful note.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/29/business/china-us-trade-deal?

> The US and China continue trade negotiations, with uncertainty over whether President Donald Trump will extend tariff truce (More) | See tariff tracker (More)

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U.S. intelligence intervened to push merger

Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

China-specific national-security concerns were a big reason the Justice Department decided last month to allow Hewlett Packard Enterprise to take over rival Juniper Networks, Trump administration officials tell Axios. Why it matters: Axios has learned that the U.S. intelligence community intervened to persuade the Justice Department that allowing the merger to proceed was essential to helping U.S. business compete with China's Huawei Technologies, among other national-security issues. A senior national security official tells Axios: "In light of significant national security concerns, a settlement ... serves the interests of the United States by strengthening domestic capabilities and is critical to countering Huawei and China." The official said blocking the deal would have "hindered American companies and empowered" Chinese competitors. A Justice Department spokesman added that DOJ "works very closely with our partners in the IC [intelligence community] and always considers their views when deciding how best to proceed with a case." Behind the scenes: Attorney General Pam Bondi had conversations with top intelligence officials that convinced her there was a strong national interest in not driving allies to Chinese technology, a senior administration official tells us. The administration official said the conversations about the deal reflect President Trump's close-knit Cabinet: Many top officials have longstanding personal connections. Bondi sees fellow Cabinet members "almost daily at happy hours, dinners, Bible studies," the official added. "It all feels very natural." The intrigue: The merger was back in the news this week with reports that two senior enforcers in the DOJ's antitrust division were fired Monday amid infighting over the department's settlement greenlighting HPE's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper.

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? Beijing hackers' long game

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Chinese hackers are targeting more sensitive U.S. systems than ever — not to smash and grab, but to bide their time, Axios' Sam Sabin reports. Why it matters: Beijing is investing in stealthy, persistent access to U.S. systems — quietly building capacity to disrupt everything from federal agencies to water utilities in case of escalation. The big picture: China's growing cyber prowess comes as the Trump administration has diminished resources for its own cyber defenses through workforce and budget cuts. Yes, but: The administration is expected to invest heavily in its own offensive cyber powers — with $1 billion from the "One Big Beautiful Bill" heading to the Pentagon for just that purpose. ⚠️ Driving the news: At least three China-based hacking groups exploited vulnerable SharePoint servers in the last month, according to Microsoft. More than 330 China-linked attacks occurred last year, doubling 2023's total, according to CrowdStrike data shared with the Washington Post. ?? Between the lines: At least three major Chinese government teams have been targeting U.S. networks in recent years. Go deeper ...

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US and China extend trade truce another 90 days, easing tension between world’s largest economies August 11, 2025 The previous deadline was set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Had that happened the U.S. could have ratcheted up taxes on Chinese imports from an already high 30%, and Beijing could have responded by raising retaliatory levies on U.S. exports to China.

Read more

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The back-and-forth of trade negotiations between the US and China

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The United States and China have extended a trade truce for another 90 days, the latest development in a months-long showdown between the world’s two biggest economies.

https://apnews.com/article/china-us-tariffs-timeline-negotiations-switzerland-d9f1d0e10d328a5d32413016d9d909f2?

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China criticizes US senators’ Taiwan visit, calls it a threat to sovereignty

A visit by a pair of U.S. senators to Taiwan has drawn criticism from China, which claims the island as its own and objects to any contact between officials of the two sides. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, and Nebraska Republican Deb Fischer arrived in Taipei on Friday. Read more.

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China displays its military strength in a parade on the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII

China showcased its military might in a parade Wednesday marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II as it seeks to wield greater influence on the global stage. Chinese leader Xi Jinping, since coming to power in 2012, has sought to build China into a country that cannot be bullied and is strong enough to stand up to foreign powers. Read more.

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?? China stole your data

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The targets of the latest mega-hack from China's digital spies included President Trump, Vice President Vance and, most likely, you, Axios' Sam Sabin reports. Why it matters: It doesn't matter what China-linked technology companies the U.S. and allies ban. Beijing's hackers are still finding fresh ways into global networks — and now they're expanding to ordinary citizens' data. Driving the news: "I can't imagine any American was spared given the breadth of the campaign," Cynthia Kaiser, a former top FBI cyber official who oversaw investigations into China's Salt Typhoon hacks, told the N.Y. Times. ? Last week, the FBI warned that the campaign has spread to 600 companies in 80 countries. ? Nearly two dozen Western security services also co-signed an advisory warning about the intrusions. The big picture: Salt Typhoon is a significant shift for digital warfare. ? China's hacking machine is no longer just after governments or telecom backbones. It's also scooping up mass troves of personal data. ? It's not entirely clear what the hackers hope to achieve by grabbing so much data on Americans, but data is valuable currency for everything from building AI models to conducting future cyberattacks.

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?? China threatens U.S. biotech dominance

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

A surge of recent licensing deals for Chinese drugs is sending new signals that the U.S. could be toppled as the world's biotech leader, Axios Vitals author Tina Reed writes. Why it matters: A decade-long national strategy to develop its biopharmaceutical industry has left China in a position to deliver medical products faster and cheaper. It's part of a global power shift that's seen China emerge as a powerhouse in tech, including AI and chemistry, Andrei Iancu, undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property in the first Trump administration, told Axios. "Any way you cut it, any way you measure, they're basically pointing in the same direction: China taking the lead, already leading, or knocking on the door in these various areas," Iancu said. Keep reading.

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US companies designed technology that China used to spy on and detain hundreds of thousands Many in Silicon Valley call China a threat to freedom. But an AP investigation finds that American companies sold surveillance technology to Chinese police and security contractors, ignoring warnings that the tools were being used to quash dissent, persecute religious sects and target minorities. Read more.

Why this matters: Over the past quarter century, American tech companies such as IBM, Dell and Cisco largely designed and set up China’s surveillance state, playing a far greater role in enabling human rights abuses than previously known, an Associated Press investigation found.   Across China, tens of thousands of ordinary people tagged as troublemakers are trapped in a digital cage, barred from leaving their province and sometimes even their homes by the world’s largest digital surveillance apparatus. Most of the companies told AP they comply with all laws, sanctions and U.S. export controls governing business in China.   What started in China more than a decade ago could be seen as a cautionary tale for other countries at a time when the use of surveillance technology worldwide is sharply rising, including in the United States. Emboldened by the Trump administration, U.S. tech companies are more powerful than ever.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ PHOTO ESSAY: Those caught in the dragnet of China’s digital cage enabled by U.S. tech   Detailed findings from AP investigation into how US tech firms enabled China’s digital police state   How the AP uncovered US big tech’s role in China’s digital police state

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China says Nvidia violated anti-monopoly laws, significantly escalating trade tensions with US

China significantly escalated its trade standoff with the United States Monday, saying that tech giant Nvidia, the most valuable company on the US stock market and a key provider of artificial-intelligence chips, had violated anti-monopoly laws.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/15/business/china-nvidia-investigation-intl?

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US-China trade tensions appear to cool before upcoming Trump-Xi meeting

U.S.-China trade tensions appeared to cool Sunday before an upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with each side saying a deal was nearing between the world’s two largest economies. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets even if it does not address underlying issues involving manufacturing imbalances and access to state-of-the-art computer chips. Read more.

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US government allowed and even helped US firms sell tech used for surveillance in China, AP finds

U.S. lawmakers have tried four times since September last year to close what they called a glaring loophole: China is getting around export bans on the sale of powerful American AI chips by renting them through U.S. cloud services instead.

https://apnews.com/article/chinese-surveillance-silicon-valley-trump-administration-congress-21c5f961b1fd22f9a9e563ebe64e5582?

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Relief after Trump-Xi summit

President Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before their summit in South Korea today. Photo: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters After meeting with Xi Jinping in South Korea today, President Trump said he'll trim China tariffs in exchange for Beijing's pledge to buy U.S. soybeans and energy, allow exports of rare earth minerals and curb the flow of fentanyl. Why it matters: A trade truce between the world's two largest economies could bring relief to businesses and investors, and could help consumers, Axios' Ben Berkowitz and Dave Lawler report. China's one-year suspension of rare-earth export curbs buys time, but leaves long-term supply chain tensions unresolved. ✈️ Speaking to reporters on Air Force One en route back to D.C., Trump said tariffs on Chinese exports would drop to 47% from 57%. "I guess on the scale from zero to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12," Trump said shortly after leaving Busan, South Korea. He later said in a Truth Social post that they'd agreed on "many things," with others "being very close to resolved." ?? The meeting (1 hour and 40 minutes) began in a friendly fashion, with Trump describing Xi as a "friend" and "great leader" whom it was an "honor" to meet. Xi responded that he had a "warm" feeling meeting with Trump again, and said that while the U.S. and China "do not always see eye to eye," the countries should be "partners and friends." ? Reality check: China hasn't confirmed specifics. "The Chinese government's readout of their meeting did not mention any new trade agreements," the N.Y. Times notes. "The readout said that Mr. Xi had told Mr. Trump that both leaders should avoid the 'vicious cycle of mutual retaliation.'" "While the detente provides relief to both sides," The Wall Street Journal adds, "it does little to address the fundamental divergence between two superpowers whose economies are decoupling in many sectors" as they race for AI supremacy. Trump said he'll travel to China in April, ahead of a Xi trip to the U.S. China said Trump will travel to China next year and that he invited Xi to the U.S. President Trump makes a fist boarding Air Force One in Gyeongju, South Korea, today after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images The cameras withdrew without the leaders taking questions, and Trump didn't make any remarks before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington. But the suspense didn't last long, as Trump began speaking to reporters once on board. He said he'd travel to Beijing in April, and Xi would visit the U.S. after that. Hours later, in the Truth Social post, Trump hinted at a possible "very large scale transaction" for China to buy oil and gas from Alaska. He also said China would buy "massive amounts" of soybeans, sorghum and other agricultural products. The other side: Chinese state media quoted Xi as offering a generally positive spin. "The world today is confronted with many tough problems. China and the United States can jointly shoulder our responsibility as major countries, and work together to accomplish more great and concrete things for the good of our two countries and the whole world," Xi said, per Xinhua.

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Trump-Xi reality check

The trade deal that President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced early this morning overlaps considerably with previous deals the two have cut over the past six years, Axios' Ben Berkowitz writes.

• In some way or another, those deals often fell apart or failed to perform.

? Agriculture, rare earths, export controls — whether in Trump's first term or even earlier this year, these pacts have history.

• Within months of past pronouncements — the "Phase One" deal in 2019 or the rare earths truce in May 2025 — the situation was mostly back to square one.

⏳ Now, here we are again.

• And since this appears to be a temporary truce — and we only have general assurances from Trump on what was actually agreed to, rather than some kind of mutually binding process — we're likely to be back here again pretty soon.

⚡️ What to watch: The linchpin to the whole deal is likely the one-year truce on exports of rare earth minerals, for which China controls the global market and without which cars, planes, batteries and bombs can't be built.

• The last time the two sides struck a truce, it was ignored almost immediately. Then they rekindled the deal, and that lasted about three months before falling into crisis again.

Go deeper.

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China creates a new visa, competing with the US in wooing global tech talent China has a new visa program that is creating opportunities for foreign professionals. The K-visa rolled out by Beijing last month is part of China’s widening effort to catch up with the U.S. in the race for global talent and cutting edge technology. Read more.

Why this matters: The K-visa, similar to the H-1B visa in the United States, targets skilled science and technology workers. Stricter U.S. policies toward foreign students and scholars under Donald Trump, including the raising of fees for the H-1B visa for foreign skilled workers for new applicants, are leading some non-American professionals and students to consider going elsewhere.   Recruitment and immigration specialists say foreign workers face various hurdles in China. One is the language barrier. The ruling Communist Party’s internet censorship, known as the “Great Firewall,” is another drawback.The U.S. still holds a competitive edge, and many jobseekers still are likely to aim for jobs in leading global companies outside China.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ A crisis at Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia sent automakers scrambling. Here’s what to know   US ‘no hire’ job market leaves unemployed in limbo as threats to economy multiply   China’s exports fall 1.1% in October, hit by a 25% drop in shipments to the US

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? Hackers harness AI

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Suspected Chinese hackers used Anthropic's AI coding tool, Claude Code, to help target dozens of tech companies, financial institutions, chemical manufacturers and government agencies, the company said today. This is the first documented case of a foreign government using AI to fully automate a cyber operation, Axios cybersecurity expert Sam Sabin writes. ? How it worked: The attackers tricked Claude into thinking it was performing defensive cybersecurity tasks for a legitimate company. They also broke down malicious requests into smaller, less suspicious tasks to avoid triggering its guardrails. Claude then carried out 80%–90% of the operation on its own, Anthropic said. Claude inspected target systems, scanned for high-value databases and wrote custom exploit code. It also harvested usernames and passwords to access sensitive data, then summarized its work in detailed post-operation reports, including credentials it used, the backdoors it created and which systems were breached. Go deeper.