How Trump's trade war with China played out during his first term

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to impose higher tariffs on imported Chinese goods during his second term.

How has Trump's trade war with China, both a major economic rival and trading partner of the United States, played out during his first presidential administration?

The video above offers answers. This is from the new documentary FRONTLINE China, the United States and the rise of Xi Jinpinga two-hour investigation that will air November 26 on PBS and online.

The video details how, after calling China an enemy that was cheating us and making China a major issue in his campaign in 2016, Trump held a summit in 2017 with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago. There, Trump delivered a clear message about how he viewed China-US relations.

I think this summit made it clear to a somewhat shocked Xi Jinping that the Trump administration was determined to compete and no longer pursue this kind of flawed strategy of cooperation and engagement,” retired Lt. Gen. HR McMaster, who served as Trump. national security adviser at the time, Martin Smith told FRONTLINE correspondent.

The video then shows how the Trump administration denounced long-standing allegations that China was stealing intellectual property from American and Western companies, prompting the Chinese government to deny such technology transfer and issue the order its diplomats to use their fighting spirit and adopt a more aggressive communication style.

They triggered what they themselves called wolf-warrior diplomacy. And frankly, it was pretty reprehensible, John Bolton, another former Trump national security adviser, told Smith.

In 2018, Trump would order the implementation of a 10% tariff on Chinese aluminum, a 30% tariff on solar panels and electric vehicles, and a tariff of 25% on steel and almost everything made in China.

As the video shows, this was the first plan of a developing war that would last for years to come. The tariffs sparked a backlash from China, which accused the United States of typical trade bullying and said it would take necessary countermeasures.

What China has done is shift its exports to other countries and also shift its imports from other countries. This has shifted the purchasing of soybeans, for example, from the United States to Brazil, Anne Stevenson-Yang, founder of J Capital Research, tells Smith. So it was not a useful policy.

After several tariff increases, the documentary explains how the trade war, which continued under the Biden administration, actually increased the trade deficit. Cost increases have also led to a decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs. The theft of intellectual property continued. The costs imposed by tariffs were passed on to consumers of imported products.

Professor Jia Qingguo of Peking University, a prominent academic and policy adviser to the Chinese government who often speaks on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, highlighted what he sees as another consequence of continued tariffs.

You have high inflation. Where do you get it? Partly because of these tariffs, Qingguo told Smith.

The US-China trade war is just one issue China, the United States and the rise of Xi Jinping. In the works for more than a year, the documentary traces Xi's life, his entry into politics and the way he exercised his power at home and abroad.

He chose to embark on the path of consolidating power; the path of nationalism, Edward Wong, New York Times journalist and author of At Edge of the Empiresaid in the documentary.

As China heavily restricts international media, China, the United States and the rise of Xi Jinping draws on interviews with former members of the Chinese Communist Party, exiled human rights and democracy activists, academics, authors and journalists. The documentary also features interviews with current and former U.S. government officials, including members of the first Trump administration, such as McMaster and Bolton, who helped shape U.S. economic and national security policies toward of China.

For the full story, watch China, the United States and the rise of Xi Jinping. The documentary can be viewed on pbs.org/frontline and in the PBS app starting November 26, 2024, at 7/6c. It will premiere on PBS stations (check local listings) and on FRONTLINE YouTube Channel that evening at 10/9c and will also be available on the PBS Documentary Main Video Channel. China, the United States and the rise of Xi Jinping is a FRONTLINE production with RAIN Media, Inc. Producers are Martin Smith, Marcela Gaviria and Brian Funck. The correspondent is Martin Smith. Co-producers are Scott Anger and Elizabeth Hope Williams. The writers and directors are Marcela Gaviria and Martin Smith.

Patrice Taddonio, Senior Digital Editor, FRONT LINE