Chinese trade is thriving despite America's attacks

The rest of the world is willing to be 'ripped off'.

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Since US President Donald Trump returned to office, one country has borne the brunt of his fury. "We've been ripped off by every country in the world," he declared in April, "but China is the... 'chief-ripper-offer'." On Sept 6, he came up with a new label: "Deepest, darkest China".

He has matched words with action. Tariffs on Chinese goods, including levies placed on the country for its role in the fentanyl trade, are among America's highest.

Pacts with South-east Asian countries target goods suspected of being "transshipped" from China, and America has leaned on the European Union to keep Chinese metals out of its supply chains. Much of Mr Trump's agenda is scattershot; trying to isolate China looks like a coherent plan.

China's leader Xi Jinping has retaliated with his own tariffs and is now courting other parts of the world, including the European Union, India, Malaysia and Vietnam. His boldest display came at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit on Sept 1, where he cast China as an alternative to America, urging members to "oppose Cold War thinking... and bullying".