China is still waiting for the concrete publication of the orders. But it has no illusions about the surge in trade tensions that will come after Donald Trump and his spokesperson confirmed, on Friday, January 31, their intention to tax imports of Chinese products by 10%, starting on February 1. From the Oval Office, the US president asserted that there is "nothing" that Canada, Mexico and China can do to avoid the promised tariffs – 25% for Canada and Mexico and 10% for China. The president "will implement his tariffs tomorrow," said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.

Beijing considered itself relatively spared in recent weeks and was probably delighted to see Trump threaten, in defiance of all international norms, to take Greenland from Denmark, despite its membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The highlight of the series of events, as seen from China, was certainly Trump's threat to slap punitive taxes on semiconductors from Taiwan, slashing the relationship between the island – which Beijing has vowed to invade – and its American protector. The fact that Canada and Mexico will be more heavily targeted than China could also be a source of relief, even though some Chinese companies have set up factories in Mexico, precisely to reach the US market.

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