China's Efforts to Counter U.S. Tariffs Could Boomerang, Analysts Say

Although China can inflict pain on the United States with the economic tools at its disposal if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his promise to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese imports, using those tools too aggressively risks backfiring on Beijing, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. 

The big danger is that punishing Western companies and restricting exports of critical minerals and other essentials will only encourage the West even more in its efforts to untangle their economies from China's, which could backfire on Beijing since it remains wedded to an economic model that relies so heavily on selling its goods to Western consumers.