Jessica Chen Weiss, associate professor of government, writes in this Washington Post opinion piece that even though China is rolling out nationalist propaganda in reaction to increased U.S. trade sanctions, Chinese leaders may actually be willing to find creative solutions for the current trade impasse.
Still, she says, there are signs that anti-U.S. protests could begin.
"Trump appears to believe incorrectly that China, rather than U.S. consumers and businesses that use Chinese inputs, is paying for the tariffs," she writes. "But the Chinese government seems willing to resist Trump’s threats and punitive tariffs so far. A Xinhua commentary even invoked a Korean War-era statement by Chairman Mao: 'However long the U.S. wants to fight, we will fight, until we have achieved complete victory.' "
