China’s leaders have come under internal pressure to beef up their response to US trade sanctions, as Beijing struggles to prevent the outbreak of a trade war.
On Friday China revealed a carefully calibrated response to US steel and aluminium tariffs aimed at demonstrating that it would match Washington blow for blow after US President Donald Trump proposed punitive tariffs on Chinese high-tech industries.
However, the verdict was soon in. Over the weekend a handful of Chinese officials, academics and journalists have collectively judged these measures — 15 to 25 per cent tariffs on 128 goods such as pork, wine and recycled aluminium — to be too inconsequential.