Watching President Donald Trump’s Rose Garden performance yesterday, it was hard to believe what I was seeing: flawed economics, inaccurate history and cockamamie calculations used to justify the most wrong-headed and damaging policy decision in decades. Mr Trump’s “Liberation Day” was more like ruination day. Our cover leader in most of the world predicts that these mindless tariffs will cause chaos. Almost everything Mr Trump said this week—on history, economics and the technicalities of trade—was deluded. He has long glorified the high-tariff era of the late 19th century. In fact, it was the painstaking rounds of trade talks in the 80 years after the second world war that lowered tariffs and led to unprecedented global prosperity, including for America. 

The country that created, and has gained mightily from, the global trade system is now trying to destroy it. The question for countries reeling from the president’s vandalism is how to limit the damage. We argue that they should focus on increasing trade flows among themselves, especially in the services that power the 21st-century economy. There is no avoiding the havoc Mr Trump has wrought, but that does not mean his foolishness is destined to triumph.

After I spent last week in China, it is even clearer just how crazy Mr Trump’s plan is. You might think that these are anxious times in the country that America sees as its main adversary. In fact, our reporting from Beijing reveals a very different picture. Our cover leader in Asia spies a big beautiful opportunity for Xi Jinping. It is true that China has come out badly from Mr Trump’s Rose Garden rant. The new total tariff level could reach around 65%—a blow to China’s economy. 

But Mr Xi has been preparing for today’s chaotic world ever since becoming the country’s leader in 2012. His push for greater self-sufficiency means that China is now less vulnerable to America’s economic chokeholds. To grasp this opportunity, the Communist Party needs to stop persecuting the private sector. The economy will also need more stimulus to boost domestic consumption, and more determined efforts to stabilise a long-struggling property market. As America puts up walls, China has a chance to reset trade relations around the world. Whether it seizes the moment depends on one man: Mr Xi. But the fact the opportunity exists owes much to another: Mr Trump. 

My next stop is Washington, DC, this weekend. Maybe I’ll find out if there is any method to the madness.