Donald Trump is a well-known fan of combat sports, such as wrestling and mixed martial arts. His Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, seems also to relish a fight. Some observers expected China to respond to Mr Trump’s imposition of sweeping tariffs by meekly seeking compromise—especially after its domestic stockmarkets suffered badly as part of a massive global sell-off on Monday. But instead of suing for peace, China has retaliated. Maybe, as our article suggests, that is because China thinks that, if a full-blown trade war breaks out, it will win.

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