US-CHINA TRADE WAR

  China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) builds roads, ports, and railways in many countries to increase its global influence. Meanwhile, the US is trying to limit China’s power by using tariffs and export controls and by encouraging other countries to work with the US instead. These competing strategies affect global trade and politics. The stock markets react quickly to news about tariffs, often dropping when tensions rise. Investors worry that the trade fight will hurt company profits and slow down the world economy. The race between China’s BRI and US policies will shape how countries trade and invest in the future.

  The US has put very high tariffs on many Chinese products to protect its own industries. These tariffs make goods more expensive for American shoppers and businesses, costing each household over $1,200 a year. The goal is to reduce dependence on China by encouraging companies to move their factories to other countries like Vietnam, Mexico, and India. This shift is called "trade diversion." While this helps some countries, it also causes problems like higher prices and disrupted supply chains worldwide. China has responded by adding its own tariffs, making trade between the two countries even harder. This ongoing conflict affects not just the US and China but the whole global economy.

 As from mid of march 2025, tensions between the U.S. and China over technology have grown much stronger. The U.S. has made stricter rules on exporting advanced AI chips, hurting companies like Nvidia and AMD, which expect to lose a lot of money. In response, China is working harder to become more self-reliant. It is removing U.S. hardware and software from government use and switching to its own local technology. At the same time, China has tightened exports of rare earth minerals, which are important for U.S. defense and electric vehicles. This has caused problems in global supply chains. Another area of concern is the open-source RISC-V chip technology. U.S. lawmakers are worried it could help China’s military and are calling for more control. All these actions show a growing split between the two countries in the tech world, with serious effects on innovation and the flow of tech products worldwide.

Global Supply Chain Chaos The ongoing U.S.-China trade war has  significantly disrupted global supply chains in 2025. New tariffs and geopolitical tensions have caused delays, rerouted shipments and increased costs, particularly in sectors like electronics, defense and electric vehicles (EVs). Retailers warn of rising prices and limited product availability due to shipping issues and air freight cost surges. China’s restrictions on rare earth exports threaten U.S. military systems and EV production, as the U.S. remains heavily dependent on Chinese materials and processing. While efforts are underway to shift supply chains to countries like Vietnam and India and to boost domestic production, these measures are not yet enough to offset the instability.  Import and export levels have also dropped sharply, with companies rushing to front-load inventory. The supply chain chaos is a stark reminder of how deeply interconnected global trade remains and how political tensions can rippl...