Washington will never be allowed to control China's fate

How dare it? That was the message from the United States leader, who, announcing extra tariffs on $550 billion worth of Chinese imports, declared that China "should not" have put tariffs on a further $75 billion of US products.

Since China' s tariffs were in retaliation to the US' tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports, clearly what he described as a "politically motivated" move has put his nose out of joint.

It has become unquestionably clear that his administration's tariff war against China is politically motivated. What Washington wants from its largest trade partner is for it to be content to play second fiddle and meekly do as it demands.