Question regarding the ongoing US and China trade war

So this is the second US and China trade war, the first one in 2019 only ended due to covid-19 and the global trade infrastructure changing so heavily. The basic premise was: USA - Massive trade superpower (massive ego) China - Massive trade superpower (hurts USA ego)

Many big MNCs like apple, hnm, samsung and more choose to produce their products in china because of weak labour laws and cheap costs of production. This makes the USA lose out on massive amounts of tax revenue and in general having the benefit of MNCs being part of the job market in a larger way. Trumps idea to stop this was basically, if we put tariffs on Chinese imports, these companies will have to pay tariff costs to get their products into the country (because produced in china = chinese import), the aim was to basically make these firms shift production to America. So now we’re basically in Trade War 2.0, same drama, same characters, but the stakes are bigger and pettier.

The premise now is:

USA – still a massive trade superpower (still has a massive ego) China – still a massive trade superpower (hurts USA ego even more now)

But this time, it’s not just about clothes, phones, and cheap furniture. It’s about domination, world domination, and who gets to control the future. The US is freaking out over how fast China’s catching up in AI, semiconductors, electric vehicles, and all the stuff that’s basically the backbone of future power.

Now instead of just hitting Chinese imports with tariffs, the US is going for the tech chokehold. No more selling China advanced computer chips, no more high-end AI tools, and companies like Huawei, TikTok, and others are being treated like national security threats. It’s not even subtle anymore.

At the same time, China’s fighting back — limiting exports of rare earth metals and essential minerals the US needs for things like electric cars and green energy. It’s like a supply chain chess game.

MNCs are stuck in the middle again. Producing in China is still cheap and efficient, but now there’s this constant pressure: “shift out of China or pay the price.” So we’re seeing more “friend-shoring” — moving production to countries the US likes (India, Vietnam, Mexico) but still keeping costs low. Because let’s be real, most of these companies aren’t bringing jobs back to America — they’re just avoiding political headaches.

So yeah, same trade war, new outfit. But at its core, it’s still USA vs China ego and the global economy caught in the middle.