China started the trade war long before Donald Trump became president, and while his China crackdown is risky, it’s on firmer legal, political and economic ground than many of his other trade complaints, Greg Ip writes.
If there’s a trade war between the U. S. and China, don’t blame Donald Trump: China started it long before he became president.
Even free traders and internationalists agree China’s predatory trade practices—which include forcing U. S. business to transfer valuable technology to Chinese firms and restricting access to Chinese markets—are undermining both its partners and the trading system.
