China Once Looked Tough on Trade. Now Its Options Are Dwindling
<i>Some hard-liners want a more aggressive stance. Lou Jiwei, who retired as finance minister in 2016 but is still the head of the country’s social security fund, suggested on Sunday that China could deliberately disrupt American companies’ supply chains by halting the export of crucial components mostly made in China. But Chinese trade experts dismiss that idea as impractical and not the government’s position.</i><p>If anything would play into the administration&#x27;s hands, it would be that move. By taking themselves offline, the Chinese would be ceding market share to upstart competitors and encouraging further reshoring of mission-critical supply chain components.