Xi Wins as Trump blinks in Tariff Poker Game

Xi Wins as Trump blinks in Tariff Poker Game
Opinion

17 May 2025 • 3:00 PM MYT


Dr. D. Ananda
Lecturer at a university, commentator, published writer

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3045603/trade-war-deal-how-donald-trumps-hopes-signing-ceremony-xi


China's resilience and patience have won the day as Xi Jinping held his cards close while US President Donald Trump blinked in what analysts describe as a deadly poker game of tariffs.


According to a Straits Times report, China's stoic and stubborn insistence of not making any concessions at the negotiation table in Switzerland over the weekend paid off in spades as the US cut duties on Chinese products to 30 per cent from a existential threatening 145 per cent for 90 days.


Beijing, meanwhile, dropped its levy on most goods to 10 per cent.


A deal reached on Monday (May 12), sent most stocks and the dollar shooting up.


China Wins, Trump folds


China's main demands have been met with Beijing getting most of what it wanted in the negotiations with elevated "reciprocal" tariff" being suspended.


This puts China on par with the US oldest ally, Britain, on par with levy on most goods set at 10 per cent.


The world held its breath as two of the world's biggest economies played a deceptive game of poker and the stakes was world economic domination.


A joint statement at the close of the talks, the reduction in tariffs exceeded even China's expectation.


Xi's defiance pays


The Chinese leader's defiance and refusal to blink in the face of massive and disruptive tariffs was in sharp contrast to the rest of the world leaders who reached out to Trump in calls to the White House attempting to defuse and bring down the punitive tariffs on many European and Asian nations.


A a senior official at research firm Trivium China said that "this is arguably the best outcome that China could have hoped for - the US backed down," "Going forward, this will make the Chinese side confident that they have leverage over the US in any negotiations."


Unlike Trump, as the crunch hit China, Xi's popularity surged at home while Trump's slumped even with his own Republican Party.


The US president faced mounting criticisms from business lobbies, market players and party members who feared losing their seats in mid-term elections in 2026.


The report also said that Mr Trump on May 12 that he could speak to Mr Xi as soon as the end of this week, as he touted a “total reset” in ties with China.


An associate of the Rand China Research Centre summed it as "for Beijing, it's a strategic vindication, and one that makes Xi's focus on manufacturing and self-reliance harder to argue against…"


Deutsche Bank strategist George Saravelos was quoted as saying “All of this is a clear signal of negotiations moving into a more conciliatory and respectful” phase, he added, citing that as another Chinese demand.


The report added that China had spent many years since Mr Trump’s first term to reducing its dependence on the US for key imports. The reduction in tariffs, according to analysts, ought to make it easier for Chinese policymakers to hit a growth target of about 5 per cent in 2025.