Analysis: Why China’s Xi Jinping is not backing down on US-China trade escalation that has no end in sight

Hong Kong CNN — What was supposed to be a historic, era-defining trade war launched by US President Donald Trump against a range of countries has, for now, narrowed in on a singular target: China. Trump announced a three-month pause Wednesday on all the “reciprocal” tariffs that had gone into effect hours earlier – with one exception, deepening a confrontation set to dismantle trade between the world’s two largest economies. We have engaged in a trade war with the US for eight years, accumulating rich experience in these struggles,” a commentary on the front page of Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily said Monday. “The ultimate outcome hinges on who can withstand a longer ‘economic war of attrition,’” economist Cai Tongjuan of China’s Renmin University wrote in a state media op-ed earlier this week. “And China clearly holds a greater advantage in terms of strategic endurance.” US President Donald Trump signs executive orders and proclamations in the Oval Office at the White House on April 9.