US trade war based on miscalculation

Just when a trade agreement between the United States and China appeared to be in sight, negotiators found themselves back at square one. The apparent reason for the disruption was China's insistence on a substantially rewritten draft agreement, which, according to the United States administration, reneges on previously agreed terms. But the root cause of China's changes to the draft - the reason behind its reluctance to meet US demands - lies in a fundamental miscalculation by the US.

Simply put, the US has been overplaying its hand. The agreement that China rewrote would have obliged the Chinese side to legislate some of the changes sought by the US - moreover, it was negotiated amid an aggressive US campaign against Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. That campaign has included adding the company to the US' trade blacklist, thereby cutting off its supply of critical technologies, and pushing US allies to isolate the company as well.

US attack on Huawei will have far-reaching effects