IF TOUGHNESS ALONEdecided great-power contests, China could afford to feel cocky about itsconfrontation with America. Though Chinese exporters have been winded by PresidentDonald Trump’s tariffs, they have yet to suffer a knockout blow. Communist Party bosses have worked to build an economy that can take American-inflicted pain, whether that involves ordering China’s technology sector to become more “self-reliant” and less dependent on foreign inputs, or expanding its dealings with Russia and other countries that oppose Western trade and financial sanctions. The same economy stands ready to impose pain on foreign rivals, for instance by curbing exports of rare-earth minerals, the supply of which China dominates.
This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Xi Jinping’s Trump-sized puzzle”
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