U.S. and China seek to repair damage from tariff war that sent trade into a freefall

Nbcwashington · 🇨🇳 public China · May 13, 2026 · 1289 words · By Paul Wiseman; Chan Ho-him; The Associated Press

U.S.-China Trade Relations Economic Interdependence Global Supply Chain Diversification

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What to know about U.S.-China Trade Relations

During a tumultuous 2025, the United States and China proved how much they could hurt each other in a trade war.

Claims checked 18

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

During a tumultuous 2025, the United States and China proved how much they could hurt each other in a trade war.

Why it matters

Now Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are meeting in Beijing to repair some of the damage.

Common ground

A decade of conflict between the world's two biggest economies has left U.S.-China trade greatly reduced from the boom times of the 2000s and 2010s, forcing companies to regroup.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this U.S.-China Trade Relations story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Mexico and Canada had leapfrogged China to become the top two U.S. trading partners?
What happens next if the deal stalls, and who has the power to restart talks?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/us-china-seek-to-repai…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 18 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 8

verified Verified By Reference 3

info Single Source 3

check_circle Corroborated 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified

Claim 1: “Mexico and Canada had leapfrogged China to become the top two U.S. trading partners.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and USAFacts both confirm that Mexico and Canada are the top trading partners of the United States, having surpassed China.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — (Top). 1 Largest US trading partners. 2 Balance of trade by category.These figures do not include services or foreign direct investment. In 2025, Mexico was the largest trading partner of the United S…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_trading_pa…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Who are the biggest trading partners of the U.S.? This visual showcases the trade balances between the U.S. and its trading partners.The United States is the world’s biggest goods importer making it a…
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/largest-trading-partners-of…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mexico and Canada, the two countries that share a land border with the US, are the nation’s top two export partners. Each took in over $300 billion in US exports in 2023, while no other nation reached…
https://usafacts.org/articles/who-are-the-uss-top-trade-part…

schedule

Claim 2: “Last year, the Chinese limited exports of tungsten”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 3: “Now... they are still at almost 48%, according Chad Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While evidence shows tariffs increased significantly and mentions of 100% additional tariffs, there is no specific evidence in the provided results confirming the exact figure of 'almost 48%' attributed to Chad Bown.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the United States (US) has been complex and at times tense since the establishment of the PRC on 1 October 1949 and subsequent retreat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China–United_States_relations

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — An economic conflict between China and the United States has been ongoing since January 2018, when US president Donald Trump began imposing tariffs and other trade barriers on China with the aim of fo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China–United_States_trade_war

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — On May 7, 1999, a United States Air Force B-2 Spirit, participating in the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, dropped five Joint Direct Attack Munition satellite-guided bombs on the Embassy of China, Belgrad…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_bombing_of_the_C…

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 4: “U.S. soybean exports to China nonetheless dropped 75% in 2025.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 5: “China controls about 80% of the world’s tungsten.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 6: “Trade between the two countries — exports plus imports — accounted for more than 13% of America’s trade with the rest of the world [in 2016].”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence discusses the Belt and Road Initiative and general trade war impacts, but does not provide the specific percentage (13%) of U.S. global trade for 2016.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — China’s colossal infrastructure investments may usher in a new era of trade and growth for economies in Asia and beyond.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounders/chinas-massive-belt-and-ro…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — A trade war has escalated between the U.S. and China and African economies are caught in the crossfire.
https://www.csis.org/analysis/innocent-bystanders-why-us-chi…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — China’s leadership is more agile and its society more dynamic than the Soviet Union of the 1980s, and thus is less vulnerable to U.S. pressure and coercion. Reagan’s success depended to some degree on…
https://tnsr.org/2020/01/what-went-wrong-u-s-china-relations…

verified

Claim 7: “Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are meeting in Beijing”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia explicitly mentions a state visit by Donald Trump to China from 13 to 15 May 2026, confirming a meeting in Beijing during his second presidency.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 10 April 2024, Ma Ying-jeou, the former president of the Republic of China (Taiwan; ROC), and Xi Jinping, the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and president of the People's Re…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_meeting_of_Ma_Ying-jeou_a…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — From 13 to 15 May 2026, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, is making a state visit to China. This visit is Trump's second state visit to China, and the first to occur during his second …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_state_visit_by_Donald_Tru…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of international trips made by Xi Jinping, the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and the president of China. Xi Jinping has made 56 international trips to 71 countries si…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_trips_ma…

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

Claim 8: “A trade truce reached last October likely will be extended”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results indicate that the US and China extended a trade truce and that an upcoming Trump-Xi summit is likely to produce a limited extension of the economic detente.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and government of China interfered in the 2024 United States elections through propaganda and disinformation campaigns, primarily linked to its Spamouflage influence …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_interference_in_the_20…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States government applies economic sanctions against certain institutions and key members of the government of the People's Republic of China and its ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_sanctions_agains…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 9: “In 2016, the United States did more business with China than any other country.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence mentions Mexico as the largest partner in 2025 and China as a top partner, but does not explicitly confirm China was the #1 partner specifically in 2016 across multiple sources.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States ambassador to China is the chief United States diplomat to the People's Republic of China. The United States has sent diplomatic representatives to China since 1844, when Caleb Cushi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ambassadors_of_the_Uni…

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 10: “China... recorded a record global trade surplus of $1.2 trillion last year.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 11: “The United States has blocked shipments of the most advanced computer chips to China”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 12: “Nike has stepped up production in Vietnam.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 13: “The U.S. deficit in the trade of goods and services with China peaked at $377 billion in 2018.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific trade deficit figure of $377 billion in 2018.

schedule

Claim 14: “goods imports from Southeast Asia surged — up 42% from Vietnam, 44% from Thailand, 24% from Indonesia [last year].”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 15: “Last year, it was down to $168 billion, the lowest since 2004.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific trade deficit figure of $168 billion in 2024.

info

Claim 16: “By last year, China’s share had been halved to 6.4%.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of general descriptions of China and does not contain any trade share percentages for 2024.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — China, [h] officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), [i] is a country in East Asia. It is the second-most populous country after India, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, representing 17%…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · China, the largest of all Asian countries, occupies nearly the entire East Asian landmass and covers approximately one-fourteenth of the land area of Earth, making it almost as large as th…
https://www.britannica.com/place/China

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 23 hours ago · View the latest China news and videos, including politics, travel and business headlines.
https://www.cnn.com/world/china

schedule

Claim 17: “Apple has moved some of its production of its iPhones to India.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 18: “Before Trump began slapping taxes on Chinese imports in 2018, the average U.S. tariff on China stood at 3.1%.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results from the NZ Herald and other sources indicate that average US tariffs on Chinese imports were around 3% prior to the 2018 trade war.

menu_book

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.