Beijing does not bow to Washington and, in the war on trade tariffs, plays its cards open, holding an olive branch in one hand and a gun in the other.
After US President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs of up to 100% on Chinese goods, the response came with tones of defiance: “If you want to fight, we will fight to the end; if you want to negotiate, our door remains open”, declared a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
And the Dragon’s willingness to fight has already materialized in the commercial retaliation arrived in the form of special port taxes for all American ships, or in any case attributable to American interests, entering Chinese ports. The provision affects not only the USA, but has dramatic repercussions on maritime traffic and international logistics.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Transportation, the new special port taxes initially amount to 400 yuan (about 56 dollars) per net ton, but could rise up to 1,120 yuan by 2028. The measure applies not only to American-flagged ships, but also to those managed or controlled by US entities with stakes greater than 25%.
This is a mirror move to the duties introduced by Washington, which had hit the Chinese maritime and shipbuilding industries by invoking Section 301 of the Trade Act, a rule that allows action against commercial practices deemed “unfair” by Trump.
According to the American think tank CSIS, the United States today holds just 0.1% of the world’s share of shipbuilding, compared to over 50% held by China. The disproportion between the forces at play is evident.
Beijing sanctions five American companies
In addition to the tariffs, China announced sanctions against five US subsidiaries of the South Korean company Hanwha Ocean, accused of “supporting the US investigation into Chinese shipbuilding practices”. All transactions and cooperation with these companies have been prohibited.
China’s Ministry of Commerce accused Washington of “undermining China’s sovereignty, security and development,” adding that the United States was “abusing the concept of national security” to justify discriminatory measures.
USA VS China, rare earths a real battleground
But the naval war is only part of the larger conflict between the two superpowers. At the center of the conflict are rare earths, minerals crucial for the production of advanced technologies, from chips to electric motors, from missile systems to solar panels.
The recent Chinese crackdown on the export of these materials has sparked the anger of Trump, who has threatened to double duties on all Chinese goods. “The United States will not accept China using rare earths as an economic weapon,” the president said, effectively opening a new front in the global trade war.
The Chinese economy is slowing, but Beijing is not backing down
According to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Beijing’s aggressive response would be “a sign of the weakness of its economy” and an attempt to “drag everyone else along with it”. Xi Jinping’s China, in technical recession according to various estimates, however aims to defend its strategic industry and consolidate its role in global trade. Analysts believe that Beijing is therefore trying to turn the crisis into political leverage.
To complete the picture, it should also be remembered that China holds a significant portion of US foreign debt, equal to 746.4 billion dollars (8.3% of the federal foreign debt as of June 2025 according to estimates by the CPI Observatory of the Catholic University).
