The tariff war launched by US leader Donald Trump could lead to a full-scale war between the US and China, warned Andrew Latham, a Defense Priorities fellow and professor of international relations at Macalester College in St. Paul.
Points of attention
- Trade restrictions, export controls, and technology bans imposed by the US on China contribute to a growing sense of hostility between the two global powers, creating a precarious geopolitical landscape.
- While war is not deemed inevitable at present, the eroding economic interdependence and rational decision-making framework suggest a shift towards more volatile international relations, as highlighted by the expert.
The risk of war between the US and China is very real
As St. Paul's Andrew Latham noted, there have already been identical cases in human history.
For example, we can recall the situation in 1941, when the United States exerted powerful economic pressure on Japan, writes 19FortyFive .
America's denial of Japan's access to key strategic goods was the final blow, which Tokyo perceived not as a reprieve but as a death sentence to its imperial ambitions. The result was Pearl Harbor, the expert recalled.
Latham points out that the Biden and Trump teams have consistently increased pressure on China through trade restrictions, export controls, and technology bans.
What is important to understand is that this could really have dire consequences for the US and China.
This does not mean that war is inevitable — or even likely in the near future — but it does mean that we are no longer in a world of absolute economic interdependence and the moderation of rational choice, the expert added.
