The two countries with the largest economies in the world, China and the U.S., have had a complicated relationship. The U.S. was one of its allies in WWII and then one of its enemies once the Communists took over, and then allies again after Nixon went in the 70's and Cultural Revolution ended. And now its getting a little less warm as the U.S. fears the rise of China as a superpower.
On the campaign trail, Trump on numerous occasions called out China as a currency manipulator. Perhaps China is, and maybe they did constrict their money supply and then try to encourage foreign investment. Whatever the case it, for the past year, Trump has been hesitant to directly call out China. Trump has threatened a trade war between the two nations, but it's different from the U.S. and Japan's economic rivalry in the 80's. China and the U.S. aren't exactly allies in a close sense.
In addition, China and the U.S. are kind of shaky on the issue of North Korea. Trump does have some amount of reason to pressure China, as the North Korea issue is particularly messy. On the other hand, China can easily pressure the U.S. because let's face it, everything basically comes from China. Pretty soon there'll be cars from China. There's already the Buick Envision that's made in China.
China also claims that the U.S. is misconstruing and distorting China's intentions. China only wants to assert its sovereignty and power in Asia. China is becoming stronger and more efficient with its new paramount leader Xi Jinping who is cleaning the country of corruption; many countries fear its growing power. Japan is especially pissed, but that's okay. It's economy is stagnating and its population is dropping. That's why its trying to kiss-up to Trump like with Shinzo presenting Trump with matching hats. China accuses the U.S. of being imperialistic, which does have some valid claims, I mean come on, the Philippines, Panama, heck, South Korea and Vietnam.
Donald and Shinzo Make Alliance Even Greater......
One thing that U.S. could have done better was pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Sure, the current U.S. administration hates these trade deals as they're manipulative, but this has cost the U.S. a leverage point. The U.S. could've done something big with the TPP.
Beijing and Washington have a love-hate relationship. The prospect of a trade war seems very unlikely, despite the back and forth. Many Chinese do respect Trump in the way that he speaks his mind and is not afraid to challenge others.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/07/donald-trump-and-china-military-confrontation-dangerous-collision-course-experts
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/17/world/asia/shinzo-abe-donald-trump.html
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