Karishma Vaswani, Columnist

China Is Playing the Long Game on Trade. It’s Working.

Beijing is using the Mao-era strategy of “protracted war” to buy time with Washington.

August 12, 2025 at 7:00 PM UTC

Karishma Vaswani is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia politics with a special focus on China. Previously, she was the BBC's lead Asia presenter and worked for the BBC across Asia and South Asia for two decades.

History repeats.
*Photographer: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images*

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President Donald Trump’s trade war was meant to rebalance global power in America’s favor. Instead, China is playing the long game, enduring short-term economic pain to shape any eventual deal to its advantage.

The strategy appears to be working — for now. On Monday, Washington granted Beijing another 90-day reprieve, extending a pause on tariffs through Nov. 10. China announced it would do the same. Markets welcomed the move, which offered some relief after months of tension. The delay will give President Xi Jinping’s policymakers more time to plan their next move.