China’s leaders have communicated clearly that the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs will have painful effects on the country, but they are confident that it is a challenge that China can handle. In a commentary published in the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s mouthpiece, Beijing stated that there is no cause for alarm and that China is well-equipped to face the impacts of a trade war with the United States. Despite the potential harm the tariffs may cause, the commentary argued that China is prepared to weather the situation as it is no longer as reliant on the US market for exports. China responded to the tariffs on Friday by imposing its own retaliatory measures against American companies, and censoring criticisms of its retaliation on social media. The move has been met with mixed responses, as some analysts see it as a means to keep the door open for negotiations while others condemn it as a wrong approach for responding to the situation. On the other hand, the decision to close down the research center where a critic of China’s retaliatory measures worked has been applauded by nationalist commentators on social media.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/world/asia/china-trade-war-tariffs.html