Is the US-China trade war back on?

How the US and China got locked in a trade war and what it means for the things you buy

An episode of the The Global Story podcast, hosted by BBC World Service, titled "Is the US-China trade war back on?" was published on October 15, 2025 and runs 26 minutes.

October 15, 2025 ·26m · The Global Story

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Summary

“If there’s a fight, we’ll fight to the end”, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday, of the increasingly fierce trade war playing out between the US and China. As President Donald Trump threatens imposing 100% tariffs on goods coming from China, his counterpart, President Xi Jinping, has restricted US access to its rare earth minerals – which are vital to producing everything from smartphones to fighter jets. With the two leaders due to meet in South Korea later this month, can they break the stalemate, or will they plunge the world’s two biggest economies into a global trade war? BBC China correspondent Stephen McDonnell joins us to discuss how the world’s two largest economies got locked in stalemate – and what it could mean for the cost of the goods we all buy.Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Hannah Moore Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Image: Russian Matryoshka wooden dolls, depicting US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yuri Kochetkov/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Episode Description

“If there’s a fight, we’ll fight to the end”, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday, of the increasingly fierce trade war playing out between the US and China.

As President Donald Trump threatens imposing 100% tariffs on goods coming from China, his counterpart, President Xi Jinping, has restricted US access to its rare earth minerals – which are vital to producing everything from smartphones to fighter jets.

With the two leaders due to meet in South Korea later this month, can they break the stalemate, or will they plunge the world’s two biggest economies into a global trade war? BBC China correspondent Stephen McDonnell joins us to discuss how the world’s two largest economies got locked in stalemate – and what it could mean for the cost of the goods we all buy.

Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Hannah Moore Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Image: Russian Matryoshka wooden dolls, depicting US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yuri Kochetkov/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock