


Listen and follow ‘The Daily’
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube | iHeartRadio
Over the past week, President Trump avoided a trade war with Canada and Mexico. But he escalated a trade war with China.
His reasoning? China has become more powerful in domestic manufacturing than the United States, Japan, Germany, South Korea and Britain combined.
Keith Bradsher, the Beijing bureau chief for The New York Times, explains why China’s dominance as a trading partner has become a threat to Trump’s agenda — and asks whether America will ever be able to catch up.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
On today’s episode

Keith Bradsher, the Beijing bureau chief for The New York Times.

Background reading
For China, President Trump’s moves bring pain, but also potential gains.
China’s trade surplus has reached a record level: nearly $1 trillion.
There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.
We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.
Special thanks to Paula Szuchman and Larissa Anderson.
The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Michael Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez, Brendan Klinkenberg and Chris Haxel.
Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson, Nina Lassam and Nick Pitman.