China’s Counter-strike: Beijing’s Economic War Arsenal

Washington believed tariffs would corral Beijing back to the negotiating table but with domestic legitimacy on the line and a deep playbook of coercive economics within reach, Xi’s inner circle chose confrontation over conciliation, betting that the damage to America’s supply chains would eclipse the pain at home. What follows is a field manual of the tools, thresholds and trip-wires shaping China’s counter-strike.