Chinese President Xi Jinping has been secretly worried in recent months that his country’s global influence as one of the world’s biggest economies could be coming to an end since President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Shortly after Trump’s 2024 presidential election victory, Xi instructed his advisers to examine the Cold War rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union due to concerns that China could potentially become isolated like Moscow was during that time period, anonymous sources that consult with Beijing told the WSJ. China’s leader is becoming increasingly worried that Beijing’s economy could become more secluded due to potential new trade restrictions and sanctions from the U.S., the outlet reported.
The report comes amid increasing geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China as Trump has been moving to reduce America’s dependence on foreign countries as part of his wider “America First” agenda. On Tuesday, Trump doubled the 10% tariffs he had imposed on Chinese imports in February, while also levying 25% tariffs on imported goods from Mexico and Canada in an effort to combat the flow of dangerous drugs and illegal migrants coming into the U.S.
China is currently trailing behind the U.S. as the world’s second largest economy. Notably, Beijing has faced massive economic hurdles over the past several years, including an ongoing real estate market crisis and mounting national debt.
Additionally, there have been mounting concerns in recent years over China being a threat to America’s national security due to Beijing’s growing global influence under Xi’s leadership.
Since Trump returned to the Oval Office, various major businesses and foreign countries have pledged to invest significant sums of money into the U.S. over the next several years. Relatedly, there have also been various reports since Trump’s election victory that some businesses have decided to begin moving their production out of foreign countries and into the U.S.
During his first term, Trump imposed various new tariffs and trade restrictions on China, which began a trade dispute between the two countries.
Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement that the WSJ report has “no factual basis,” and insisted that “China is full of confidence in its economic development prospects.”
“Looking back at the past year, China’s economic growth was 5.0%, and its total economic output reached a new level of 130 trillion yuan for the first time,” Pengyu told the DCNF. “The major goals and tasks of economic and social development were successfully completed, which fully demonstrated the resilience and potential of the Chinese economy. At the same time, economic globalization is the trend of the times. It is not subject to human will, nor can it be cut off by geopolitical competition. We must oppose all forms of protectionism and isolationism, firmly safeguard the free, fair and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system, tear down the walls of small courtyards, and jointly build an open market.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comment from the Chinese embassy.
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