The chip ban on Luo Ye is only the beginning of the entire trade war. In the months that followed, the Maple government launched a massive trade war offensive against China.

More and more Chinese companies are being included in the sanctions list, and the reasons for sanctions are strange, from why they wear hats to why they don't wear hats, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is purely a trick to add to the crime and no excuse. Some of the companies on the sanctions list are not allowed to enter the U.S. market, some are not allowed to purchase U.S. equipment and accessories, and some are even restricted from doing trade with other countries than the United States.

Under the pretext that the Chinese government has provided high subsidies to enterprises, resulting in a price advantage for Chinese goods in the U.S. market, Mayp ordered tariffs ranging from 25% to 50% on imports from China, with the aim of undermining the competitiveness of Chinese goods and protecting the domestic manufacturing industry in the United States, so as to achieve the so-called "America is great again".

The trade protection measures of the Maple government are not limited to China, but also to Canada, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, etc., the Maple government has also launched a variety of trade sanctions, including raising import tariffs, carrying out anti-dumping investigations, withdrawing from various trade agreements, etc., which have caused the whole world to panic.

What is surprising is that people of insight all over the world are angry and worried about this trade protection policy of the US Government, but in China, a considerable number of intellectuals are cheering, claiming that this is a "resounding slap in the face" to China and will be able to "knock China back to its original shape." They say that China's prosperity is false and evil, and that if their American dad stretches out a finger and gently presses it, China will collapse completely.

However, the clamor of such people cannot affect the country's decision-making. In response to the U.S. tariff hikes, the Chinese government has uncompromisingly launched a reciprocal counterattack, increasing tariffs on U.S. goods sold to China by the same percentage, and claiming that it is willing to accompany them to the end. Various Western countries affected by the trade war have also expressed their dissatisfaction with the policies of the Mapp government, and some countries have also taken some symbolic retaliatory measures.

"President, are the measures that we have recently introduced too intensive? Many governments have protested against us. ”

Commerce Secretary Fitzel had to remind Mepp. The commerce departments of various countries are making representations to the U.S. Department of Commerce, and importers and exporters in the U.S. are also complaining, and these pressures are borne by the Ministry of Commerce, and Fitzel feels that his shoulders are almost unbearable.

"Is it intensive? No, no, no, this is just the beginning, and the policies we have behind will shock them even more. They get so much cheaper from the United States, and we're going to get all of that back. Mapp said conceitedly.

"But we don't need to go to war against multiple countries at the same time, right? ”

Mephaha laughed and said, "Fitzel, you are too young and too simple-minded. If you think about it, if our trade measures are only aimed at the Chinese, then the Europeans will watch the excitement from the sidelines, and even secretly help China, so that we and China will fight and lose, and they can sit back and reap the benefits. At the same time, the Chinese will fight to the end with us if there is no way out, and we will suffer heavy losses at that time.

And if we start a trade war against multiple countries at the same time, then they will be divided between them. Every country wants us to shift more pressure to other countries, and they will make some concessions to us in order to cause trouble, and the end result is that they all give in. ”

"Uh...... All right. Fitzel was helpless. You have a big chest, you are reasonable, the enemy on all sides is a big taboo, you can say a big reason, and say that I am Too young, too simple Tucson, what else can I say?

"Haven't the Chinese shown compromise in the past few weeks?" Mapp asked Fitzel.

Fitzel shook his head: "No. The Chinese government has stated on many occasions that it wants to maintain the normal international trade order and hopes to be able to negotiate a solution to trade disputes with us. However, they did not directly express compromise, and they also pushed back strongly against our measures. We've raised import tariffs on Chinese goods, they've increased tariffs on U.S. imports by the same percentage, and they've said they're going to do it if we do anything more in the future. ”

"Aren't they afraid of losing the U.S. market altogether?" asked Mepp.

Fitzel shrugged and said, "I don't know. However, the Chinese have been preparing for this trade war for several years, and they have spent a lot of money to cultivate markets in Africa and some other regions. We have done research and in the past two years, the production capacity that the African market alone has helped the Chinese digest can be equivalent to 1/3 of the US market. They now have a lot of international cooperation in Central Asia, West Asia, and Latin America, providing them with money and technology to help them develop their economies so that they have enough purchasing power to buy Chinese goods. If the Chinese's measures are successful, the importance of the US market to them will be greatly reduced. ”

"This is the grave mistake my predecessor made. "They completely ignore the Chinese expansion in Asia, Africa and Latin America, which has led to these regions becoming Chinese spheres of influence." For example, I've heard that Argentina has been very close to the Chinese lately, and the Chinese have bought large quantities of soybeans from Argentina that should have belonged to American farmers. ”

"Well...... Fitzel thought for a moment before he said stubbornly, "Argentina's economic situation has been very bad in recent years, and the government's finances are in trouble. They had asked us to give them $10 billion in official loans to help them balance their fiscal deficits. But...... Later, the Chinese gave them these loans and signed a local currency swap agreement with them. ”

Fitzel omitted a passage in the middle, and in fact, the decision to refuse a government loan to Argentina was made precisely by Mepp. Mepp's reasoning is that the US Government should follow the principle of America first, and the United States itself is heavily indebted, so why should it provide loans to Argentina? It would be good for them to solve Argentina's affairs by themselves, and the United States has no obligation to help them.

At first glance, Mapp's point of view sounds reasonable. But rejecting Argentina's request for help means pushing Argentina to the side of the Chinese, and how can the market and geopolitical interests that the United States lose because of this can be bought by $10 billion?

Look at China, whose per capita GDP is less than 1/5 of that of the United States, but they are willing to spend money to do good deeds. A few years ago, the Chinese government announced that it had cancelled the accumulated $10 billion of debt owed by several poor African countries in exchange for a full range of cooperation between these countries and Chinese companies. In just a few years, Chinese were doing business all over Africa, and shiploads of Chinese goods were shipped to Africa in exchange for shiploads of oil and ore. The U.S. Department of Commerce hired a think tank to do research and concluded that for every $1 Chinese spend in Africa, they can recoup at least $10 in benefits.

Fitzel and other U.S. officials have said these things to Mepp more than once, but Mepp has ignored them and continued to go his own way. Fitzel and his colleagues had privately argued that Mape was not unaware of the reasoning, but that he just had his own ideas. You must know that helping your international allies can enable the United States to gain long-term benefits, but in the short term, the United States suffers. American voters want benefits that can be seen in the present, not future gains. It was a clever campaign strategy to squeeze allies and overdraft the country's future interests under the banner of America First, but it pandered to the psychology of the electorate.

Mepp only has a maximum of two terms on stage, that is, eight years. Eight years later, what will he do? Fitzel and these people are different, they want to work in their positions for a long time, and if they let Mapp toss like this, what will everyone do in the future?

Mepp didn't seem to hear the resentment in Fitzel's words, and he nodded and said: "Yes, the Chinese are now issuing loans everywhere, which is very disadvantageous to countries." ”

"Yes, Europeans are also very worried about this, fearing that their traditional sphere of influence will be encroached upon by the Chinese. Fitzel said.

Mepp waved his hand: "I don't mean that, I mean that the Chinese will drag these countries into debt traps when they give loans to Africans and Latin Americans." Fitzel, the Commerce Department should consult with the governments of these countries and get them to issue a joint statement condemning the Chinese for lending large amounts to them. ”

"Wait, President, I don't quite understand...... "Fitzel was messy. What, let Africans and Latinos issue a joint statement condemning the Chinese for giving them large loans, are you sure that you are thinking with human brains? These countries are crying and shouting for loans, and as a result, because the United States and Europe are in financial difficulties, only the Chinese in the world can lend a helping hand to them, and you let them condemn the Chinese?

"If you think about it, Fitzel, these countries are poor countries, and the Chinese give them loans, will they be able to pay them back in the future? If they can't, they will have a debt crisis, and then their economy will collapse," Maple said. Therefore, the actions of the Chinese seem to be helping them, but in fact they are harming them. The Ministry of Commerce is obligated to tell these governments about this, so that they can reject Chinese loans and kick out Chinese companies. ”