What are the views on the US - China trade war?

China can cause more damage to the United States

Question: What are the views on the US - China trade war?
Position‹4 of 8›: The trade war is bad for the United States
Argument1 of 2›: China can cause more damage to the United States

China can cause more damage to the United States by selling U.S. treasuries. Also, China can outlast the United States because its economy and political system can survive the damage. A trade war that the U.S. cannot win is harmful for the national economy.

The argument

The United States cannot win the trade war because China can cause more damage to the United States. China is a huge holder and purchaser of American debt. If China begins to sell or stops buying U.S. treasuries, their value will fall, and America’s ability to raise money to fund itself will be weakened. As a result, there would be a surge in interest rates; this would cause substantial damage to the U.S. economy. If America continued to escalate the trade war, they would be very vulnerable to retaliation outside of tariffs. China also has significant advantages for outlasting the United States in the trade war. Whilst its GDP is smaller, its current growth is much faster and so can absorb a bigger shock. China also has less need to worry about the political ramifications of job losses and price rises due to the strong power of the central government. The threat of retaliation outside of tariffs and the unsustainability of the trade war for the United States means that it cannot keep up the war for long enough to cause a change in China’s behavior. Despite the potential benefits of winning a trade war with China, the United States cannot risk having its economy and political agenda damaged by a more withstanding country.

Premises

[P1]China holds and buys vast amounts of US debt, so if it sells or stops buying Treasuries their value falls, interest rates surge and America's ability to fund itself is weakened — damage beyond tariff retaliation. [P2] China can also outlast the US: its faster growth absorbs bigger shocks, and its strong central government worries less about the political fallout of job losses and price rises. [C] Because China can inflict more damage and outlast it, the US cannot win, so the trade war is bad for the United States.

Counter-arguments

Any devaluation of U.S. debt would be extremely damaging for China. This would further hurt their economy in addition to the damage that the tariffs caused. Also, China cannot outlast the United States because it will fear the United States permanently reducing its reliance on China for manufacturing. China will want to end the trade war before the damage to its economy becomes permanent.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Any devaluation of U.S. debt would be extremely damaging for China. [Rejecting P2] China cannot outlast the United States because it will fear the United States permanently reducing its reliance on China for manufacturing. [Rejecting P3] The United States can win the trade war.