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World China
. China thought it had a truce with the US Then Trump dropped two bombshells
Analysis by Steven Jiang and Jessie Yeung, CNN
4 minute read
Updated 4:46 AM EDT, Thu May 29, 2025
President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing in ceremony for interim US Attorney for Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro in the Oval Office of the White House on May 28, 2025.
President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing in ceremony for interim US Attorney for Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro in the Oval Office of the White House on May 28, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Beijing
—
A one-two punch from the United States risks shattering the already fragile trade war truce between Washington and Beijing, with Chinese tech companies and students both dealt shock blows by the Trump administration Wednesday night.
Viewed from within China, things had been looking up after the world’s two largest economies agreed to dramatically roll back steep tariffs – a conciliatory step in a trade war that had threatened the entire global trading system.
Factories started whirring again. Long-delayed shipping containers began leaving Chinese ports, destined for the US. Chinese media celebrated the agreement as a national victory, while top officials adopted an upbeat tone in describing cooperation between the two superpower rivals.
But the two jabs from Washington on Wednesday will have far-reaching effects across China, angering families and authorities alike. They also throw into question the future of US-China trade talks; the temporary truce only lasts 90 days, and the clock is ticking to reach a longer-term agreement.
The first hit came in a Financial Times report on Wednesday that said moves by US President Donald Trump had effectively cut off some American companies from selling software used to design semiconductors to China.
A Siemens spokesperson later told CNN that the US government on Friday informed the industry about new export controls on chip designing software to China and Chinese military end users globally.
These small chips - which power our smartphones, computers, automobiles and home appliances - have been at the fore of the US-China tech battle in recent years. The Biden administration had blocked China from accessing US-made semiconductors, and earlier this month, Washington warned companies against using AI chips made by Chinese tech giant Huawei.
