“When governments permit counterfeiting or copying of American products, it is stealing our future, and it is no longer free trade.” So said US President Ronald Reagan, commenting on Japan after the Plaza Accord was concluded in September 1985. Today resembles, in many respects, a remake of this 1980s movie, but with a reality-television star replacing a Hollywood film star in the presidential leading role – and with a new villain in place of Japan.

US overreach in the ongoing trade talks has resulted in the failure to reach an agreement. Not only has the US bullied China on the bilateral trade deficit in commodities (based on President Trump’s irrational economic views), but it has overlooked the real harms that tariffs will do to US firms and consumers.

The China-US trade war has turned into a “tech war,” with the US aiming to block Huawei from building global 5G networks. Proposals from the recent Prague conference reflect US efforts to reassert its tech dominance by getting allies to follow its lead. But with Trump’s “America First” attitude undermining the moral basis of American leadership, and US innovation lagging, protectionist bullying will not provide a firm foundation for hegemony.

A senior U.S. State Department official’s inflammatory comments about a “Clash of Civilizations” reignited debate about how to view history and differing cultures. The Conference on Asian Civilizations Dialogue, hosted in Beijing this May, offered a more level-headed and equitable path to understand civilizational differences.

The escalation of trade tension between China and the U.S. increase downside risks for both China and the U.S., it will create a lot of uncertainty, said Zhu Haibin, Chief China Economist and Head of China Equity Strategy of J.P. Morgan.

“They would like to make a deal. We’re not ready to make a deal.”

China would like to make a deal, U.S. president says in Japan. Tariffs on Chinese goods could go up ‘very easily,’ he says

Trump’s attacks on Huawei open the door to the long-term “decoupling” of Chinese and US cyberspace. Will this separation of the two countries’ tech industries achieve US goals? Or will it introduce political meddling into the previously free and open environmental of innovation in America’s digital economy, while reducing global trust in US tech giants?

Andy Purdy, chief security officer of Huawei Technologies USA, talked about 5G, U.S. efforts to persuade other nations to not use Huawei equipment, and allegations that the company would be used to spy on Americans.

Originally billed as "short-term pain," the US-China trade war unfolds into long-term troubles.