The tariffs he imposed on China in his first term were continued by President Joe Biden, a Democrat who even expanded tariffs and restrictions on the world's second largest economy. Biden administration officials looked at removing Trump's tariffs in order to bring down inflationary pressures, only to find they were unlikely to help significantly.

Neither the United States nor China would win a trade war, the Chinese Embassy in Washington said on Monday, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to slap an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese imports when he takes office on Jan.