Hardheaded Xi plays Trump: an embarrassing mismatch. “China [with unlimited access to rare minerals] is rapidly scaling up its munitions manufacturing capacity and acquiring advanced weapons platforms at a rate estimated to be five to six times faster than that of the US… Since Trump launched his trade war, China’s year-over-year exports to the US fell by 27%, but exports as a whole were still up by 8.3%”. US farmers lost the China soybean market to Brazil. With the holidays coming, US consumers face rising prices. Most toys and up to 90% of Xmas goods sold in the US are made in china.