Washington, 24 January 2025 (dpa/MIA) - US President Donald Trump has presented tariffs as a kind of silver bullet against China.

When asked if he could stop Chinese President Xi Jinping from taking Taiwan and reach an agreement on fair trade practices, Trump told Fox News that the US had a "very big power over China - that's tariffs."

"They don't want them, and I'd rather not have to use it. It's tremendous power over China," said Trump, who returned to the White House on Monday for a second term as president after beating Joe Biden in the election in November.

Trump threatened China with high tariffs shortly after winning the election. These would further burden the already ailing Chinese economy as the US is China's most important export market.

But tariffs would not be without consequences in the US either, and would probably lead to higher prices, thus fuelling inflation. The latter is something Trump wants to avoid.

Beijing could also consider not only imposing its own tariffs on US products, but also taking other targeted retaliatory measures, such as restricting the export of raw materials or stepping up investigations of US companies operating in China.

Overall, relations between the two superpowers would be likely to deteriorate further as a result.

Photo: EPA