This week on Sinica, I chat with economic historian Andrew B. Liu of Villanova University about how to understand Trump's thinking on China and tariffs. Andy wrote about this in an excellent piece on N+1 called " Back to the 80s? Trump, Xi Jinping, and Tariffs ." Check it out and then listen to the show! 3:59 – How the U.S.’s current trade anxieties echo those of the ‘80s 9:34 – How Cold War geopolitics shaped U.S.-Japan trade relations 18:23 – The lessons China learned from Japan’s experience and how it has shaped its recent economic strategy 21:03 – What Xi Jinping’s vision for the Chinese economy actually looks like 34:26 – Why China is favoring a more Ford-like model of industrial structure 41:28 – Michael Pettis’s ideas from Trade Wars Are Class Wars and points of critique 52:44 – The Trump administration’s use of tariffs Paying It Forward: Viola Zhou ’s reporting on Rest of World (especially her piece on Foxconn in India) and Dong Yige Recommendations: Andrew: Hetty Lui McKinnon’s Substack for vegan modern Cantonese recipes Kaiser : The Substack of the Carter Center’s U.S.-China Perception Monitor; and the essay “ The new frontline: The US-China battle for control of global networks ” on the Transnational Institute website See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .