Economics

China Looks to Historic Foe for Lessons on Handling Trump

  • It’s studying how Japan managed 1980s trade friction with U.S.
  • Beijing won’t make FX concession as Tokyo did in Plaza Accord

Donald Trump, left, with Xi Jinping.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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As China braces for the full impact of President Donald Trump’s trade war, it’s seeking to learn from Japan’s economic battles with the U.S. during the Reagan years.

Chinese officials, business people and academics have been pressing Japanese counterparts to share experiences from the 1980s, when Tokyo found itself in Washington’s crosshairs as its huge trade surplus and increasing industrial might sparked alarm in America.