Trump doesn't understand the Chinese!

The tug-of-war between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping continues. Muscles and nerves are straining, but Xi shows no signs of letting go. Trump, in his typically abrasive style, claimed that dozens of countries were "beating down the doors" of the White House just to sign trade agreements. Confident that no serious obstacles stand in his way, Trump is playing hardball, expecting foreign leaders to line up and kiss the ring at his White House throne. But when it comes to China, this tough-guy act isn't getting him the results he wants.

The trade war between the world’s two largest economies is shaking the very foundations of an already fragile global economic system. Yet it's important to note: China didn’t start this fight. Beijing’s goal isn’t to tear down the existing world order, but to improve its standing within it. The United States, on the other hand, is determined not to lose its dominant status over the global system.

As the negative impacts of Trump’s tariff wars start to surface domestically, he occasionally slips into a more defensive posture. At times, he even claims to have spoken to Xi and says a deal is close. However, Chinese officials flatly deny that any negotiations or talks are underway.

Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary expected to play a key role in the trade talks, said in an interview on ABC's "This Week" that he was unaware whether Trump had actually spoken to Xi. Bessent added that while he met with his Chinese counterpart during the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, tariffs were not part of the discussions. Regarding China's categorical denials of any ongoing talks, Bessent suggested, "I think they're playing to a different audience."

This seemingly offhand remark by Bessent actually points to a crucial truth about China: Beijing has no intention of giving in to Trump’s hardball tactics.

China views the period from 1839 to 1949 as its “Century of National Humiliation.” These events have deep roots in the Chinese collective memory and are central to modern Chinese nationalism. Once one of the world’s largest economies in the 18th century, China was reduced to a semi-colonial state following its defeats in the Opium Wars with Britain (and France) during the 19th century.

The British government, while restricting opium at home, launched two wars against China to force it to open its ports to the opium trade. In the First Opium War (1839), British warships sailed up the Yangtze River, compelling China to allow opium imports. In the Second Opium War (1856), Britain and France, armed with superior European military technology, decisively defeated Chinese forces. That war culminated in the infamous looting of Beijing’s Old Summer Palace by British and French troops.

Through military interventions later dubbed "gunboat diplomacy," Britain and France forced China into a series of unequal treaties, extracting favorable tariffs, commercial privileges, reparations, and territory. Hong Kong, seized as a treaty port, would only be returned to China in 1997. Following China’s defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1895), parts of northern China fell to Tsarist Russia, while Taiwan was ceded to Japan. Japan’s brutal occupation of China from 1931 to 1945 further deepened the national trauma.

For the Chinese, the "Century of Humiliation" isn’t just a painful historical memory; it’s a warning for the future. At the heart of Chinese nationalism lies the belief that if China becomes weak again, it will be humiliated again. The mantra “Never again” captures China’s commitment to never allow such weakness to return. It's no coincidence that shortly after taking office in 2012, Xi Jinping led the Politburo Standing Committee on a tour of an exhibition about the "Century of Humiliation."

Understanding this history is key to grasping China's foreign policy and worldview. Trump’s trade wars and tariffs tap into some of China's deepest historical scars. Beijing seems determined to avoid escalating the trade conflict into full-scale economic warfare. But it’s equally clear that Xi Jinping won't be strong-armed into concessions through threats, insults, or humiliation.