BEIJING (June 18): The first punches in a trade fight that China doesn’t want have been thrown, and now Xi Jinping is poised to match Donald Trump blow for blow.

The next flurry of jabs may be imminent. In his announcement of tariffs on Chinese goods on Friday, Trump vowed additional duties if China retaliated -- which Beijing immediately did. An announcement on US restrictions on investments from China will follow in the next two weeks, according to Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Analysts increasingly expect the confrontation to be a war of attrition as the two sides confront the chasm between them. While China has shown a willingness to make a deal on shrinking its trade surplus with the US, it has made clear it won’t bow to demands to abandon its industrial policy aimed at dominating the technology of the future.

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