Chinese Lesson for Trump

With the world reeling under US President Donald Trump's cowboy economic approach - unilateralism, championing tariff wars and driving American protectionism - wise words uttered by Ronald Reagan come to mind.

- Brian Sokutu

"Throughout the world, there is a growing realisation that the way to prosperity for all nations, is rejecting protectionist legislation - promoting fair and free competition."

"For those of us who lived through the Great Depression, the memory of the suffering it caused, is deep. At first, when someone says: 'let us impose tariffs on some foreign imports', it looks like you are doing a patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs.

"For a short while it works, but only for a short while," warned the former US president decades ago.

Trump's approach, with SA-born billionaire Elon Musk's hand visible, is like dangling a double-edged sword, set to backfire - ultimately hitting hard at the US economy.

This, as economists warn while the world is glued to the global impact of the Trump antics, China's economy has grown to supersede the American economy.