The unnerving thing about America’s trade war against China is that it is just the start. Donald Trump is fixated on trade balances and tariffs. The US president hankers for the 1950s, when US industry swept aside all before it. Among the swelling community of China hawks in Washington, however, resetting the terms of trade is only an opening shot.
While American and Chinese negotiators were trying and failing to reach a trade deal last week, Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, was visiting London. His message to Theresa May’s government? Allow China’s Huawei to build any of Britain’s next generation, or 5G, communications network and you can say goodbye to the special relationship.
Back in Washington, Mr Trump announced new measures to effectively ban Huawei from selling technology into the American market and may also prevent it from buying US semiconductors that are crucial for its production.