China's tough tariff response sets an example for others

Shipping containers stacked at a port in Yantai, in eastern China. The scale of Beijing's response makes clear that the Communist Party leadership is prepared for a brutal economic struggle with Washington. Photograph: Getty China's decision to impose a 34 per cent tariff on all imports from the United States along with a raft of other measures removes any doubt that Donald Trump has triggered a global trade war. The scale of Beijing's response, announced on a public holiday for the annual tomb-sweeping festival, also makes clear that the Communist Party leadership is prepared for a brutal economic struggle with…