The Trump administration's tariff war with China is most often seen through the lens of the economy. But to many economists, the bigger threat is that Trump's global trade gambit will erode the United States’ main source of global authority: the long-term geopolitical relationships it has cultivated over nearly a century.

China's ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, has urged Washington to seek common ground with Beijing and pursue peaceful coexistence while warning that China stood ready to retaliate in the escalating trade war.

China's recent clampdown on rare earth mineral exports could spell disaster for the global automotive industry