Equation
Lieutenant General
When will this end?
Simple, when both countries stop trading with each other.
That's best case scenerio.
The other scenerio is Trump seeing China not backing down economically and China with $3 TRILLION foreign reserve and holding almost $1 TRILLION in US debt (which gives China $35 billion interest a year) while US is $20 TRILLION in debt, at the same time harping threats at allies and foes alike, soon he will realize this fight is lost cause in this arena.
As Trump is a sore-loser type, he will go for the miliary option next. This is the reason why SCS is getting hotter by the day. Next you will see 5 CVBG/CSG patrolling close to China's coast (maybe even Taiwan strait) and B-52s skirting the edge of Chinese coast. He will be provoking China to go into an actual war for he lost a economic one he will try to win it back militarily. NOW this scenerio is highly likely - I would even say it has the chance of happening 8.5 out of 10 knowing Trump does not listen to ANYONE except himself.
The other scenerio is Trump will press all the buttons that hurts China because he will use ANYTHING that gives him leverage in a trade negotiation/war. I think Taiwan is one big red button he will press over and over and over in an infinite variations he can do there. He can start selling or even giving away weapons to Taiwan for example - M1A2s, F-35As & Bs, Arleigh Burkes... or he can ask Taiwan to allow US forces to have bases there, and lastly start recognizing Taiwan as a country and entry into UN. All these are buttons Trump can press with progressively bigger repercussions but it will all end with China losing Taiwan.
The reality is China is far from a push over but is still not able to win a war against US, let along when Trump provoked China to attack Taiwan, it will be Gulf-War 1 style alliances with everyone rallied around US to fight China. It is a fight China will lose and China knows that and will avoid that path no matter what, so one way or another when Trump start pressing those Taiwan buttons you will see China start folding.
How come your ideas are always straight up insane? Yesterday, you said this would directly lead to all of America's trade partners abandoning it and forming a Sino-centric global trade order. Today, you think it's gonna result in the US pressing for WWIII or using Taiwan threats causing China to fold?? All that change in 1 day? LOL
LOL The US doesn't dictate what countries the UN recognizes. Taiwan's never going to be independent because it's too close to Mainland for any other force to fight against the PRC for it (not that many want to). Lobbyists, other branches of government, big corporations will assassinate if not impeach Trump before he causes a cessation of trade with China or provokes WWIII for his own ego. It's one thing to try to shake things up on trade potentially causing gains, but likely causing losses (both in a reversible fashion) but it's a whole new dimension when you draw 330 million American lives into a potential nuclear conflict. You don't provoke war with large, nuclear countries; that's a rule that everyone follows and Trump will too if he doesn't want to meet Kennedy.
This is probably going to end with either talks remedying the situation or this being Trump's last term and talks with the next president to make everything normal again.
One possible positive endgame for the US, though, is that Trump is so unreasonable and nasty that he sets up the next incoming US president to make much easier deals by apologizing for Trump and going back on just half or 2/3rds of what Trump was asking for and everyone praises him for being a good guy and signs with him. This would be a net gain for the US in the long term (after the short term turbulence and loss with Trump) that might not have been doable without a rocky era. But, other countries, especially China, can also say, "We'll ease up the same percent by which you ease up." and lead to an evening out, so we'll see.