Trump thinks antagonising China will help save the US economy. He couldn't be more wrong

Donald Trump appears to be testing the boundaries of the power he can accumulate and then exert upon his allies, with a singular ambition: to coerce them into submitting to US supremacy. Though the president temporarily walked back his threat to unleash severe universal tariffs on Mexico and Canada, he has since imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports, which will primarily hit Canada, Mexico and China. Above all, he clearly intends to wage a trade war against China. His brash, bombastic and belligerent threats reflect the reactionary political energy that drove his rise, which feeds on displays…