The Chinese version works better. From Hua Bin at unz.com:
How a China-oriented trade bloc and a US-oriented one will differ and implications for the world
Trump’s tariff playbook is now clear. There are three parts to a “deal” Trump imposes on US’s submissive trading partners:
- Zero tariff on US imports in exchange for an arbitrary non-zero “reciprocal” tariff Trump puts on them (ranging from 10 to 50%)
- Lump sum purchase, usually several hundred billion dollars, of US goods from energy to weapons – campaign contributors’ payoff from “the leader of the free world”
- Investment into US, again usually several hundred billion dollars, in unspecified industries over a vague period of time. In Japan’s case, 90% of profits from such “investments” accrues to the US
Needless to say, every piece of the “deal” is based on vigorous analysis and deliberations, and is totally realistic and executable. For example, Europe only needs to increase its annual LNG purchase from the US by a mere 400% to deliver on the purchase target.
If it’s more than what they can consume, the Europeans can learn from the Indians who resell distressed Russian oil at a huge markup to some unsuspecting third parties (the Europeans themselves in this particular case). A win-win for everyone.
Little mentioned by the press, Trump also finalized tariffs on all major African countries from 10% for Egypt (with whom the US runs a $2 billion annual surplus) to 30% for South Africa and Algeria.
In contrast, in June this year, China announced it removed all import duties for 53 African countries – the continent can now export to China tariff free.
While China and the US have agreed to extend the trade truce by another 90 days, a managed decoupling is fast becoming a reality. China’s exports to the US fell by 22% year to date and its imports from the US dropped by 19%.
Despite its export decline to the US, China’s total export grew 7.2% for the first 6 months of the year, handily beating consensus forecast of 4.8%. China’s export value reached $1.8 trillion in the first half of 2025 with a trade surplus of $586 billion, bigger than the annual GDP of Sweden, Norway, or Vietnam.
China’s full year trade surplus is projected to exceed $1.3 trillion, the highest recorded trade surplus in world history and roughly the size of the economies of Turkey, Indonesia, Spain, or the Netherlands.
The Replacements’ parents aren’t struggling with the passed out for free school supplies. (from a previous post)
How will the faculty lounge make WAR with our supply chain?
Did they even consider it? (honk)