In the lead-up to the crucial summit scheduled to take place between Beijing and Washington in May, bilateral trade tensions have once again intensified. On Friday, China’s Ministry of Commerce officially announced the launch of two targeted trade barrier investigations against the United States, aimed at forcefully countering the pressure the Trump administration has recently applied under "Section 301" on China's overcapacity and labor issues. These two investigations focus on the "disruption of global supply chains" and "green trade barriers," indicating that Beijing is employing its legal toolkit for precise reciprocal defense.
Strategic Games: Ballast and Malignant Competition
Although both sides are currently engaged in technical discussions on setting up a "trade enforcement group," China's Minister of Commerce, Wang Wentao, in his speech in Cameroon, highlighted China's bottom line. China believes that the U.S. actions restricting high-tech exports and two-way investments severely violate WTO rules. Market analysts point out that this is a game of bargaining chips "making peace through war" ahead of the "China-U.S. Summit" in May. While Middle Eastern conflicts previously delayed diplomatic schedules, this counteraction clearly sends the signal: Beijing will not accept unilateral trade pressure without reciprocal conditions.
