Title: What is the Cause of the US-China Trade War? - Blackwell Global
Headings: What is the Cause of the US-China Trade War?
What is the Cause of the US-China Trade War?
US Trade Deficit
China’s Economic Reform Agenda
Intellectual Property Theft
Currency Manipulation
Unfair FDI Norms
Reference Links

Content: A record US trade deficit of $375 billion was revealed in 2017. In 2018, the US imported goods worth $539.5 billion from China and exported goods worth $120.3 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $419.2 billion. This deficit has been on the rise for several years now, ever since China became a major manufacturing hub for goods, due to the availability of low-cost labour. This has impacted the US manufacturing industry, as well as job growth. Along with lost manufacturing jobs, wage growth has also remained low. The US blames this deficit on a lack of market access and investment cases in China. China’s Economic Reform Agenda
Another issue is the technology transfer and hi-tech industrial policy of China, the Made in China (MIC) 2025 initiative. The US government thinks that this will enable Chinese companies to unfairly dominate strategic industries, such as food, medicines, fuel and semiconductors, where US companies have been global leaders so far. MIC 2025 is China’s key strategy to upgrade its industrial sector by concentrating on high-value manufacturing sectors, such as aerospace, robotics and electric vehicles. As a result of this initiative, China could surpass the US as the global leader in advanced manufacturing.