Did Xi's Overly-Ambitious Goals Trigger US-China Trade War?

Talk of becoming world No.1 backfired, hurting even dinner tables...

Soon, all 1.4 billion Chinese will be feeling the pinch of Donald Trump's presidency an ocean away.

They will look at their dining table and notice their favorite dishes -- Chinese-style deep fried chicken, firecracker chicken and twice-cooked pork -- are all cooked with lots of oil, much of which is pressed from the seeds of American or Brazilian soybeans.

Similarly, many of China's pigs and chickens are raised on imported soybean meal, the residue left after oil extraction.

Doubanjiang, the chili-bean paste that determines the splendor of Chinese cuisine, also cannot be made without soybeans. Of the above mentioned dishes, cabbage is about the only ingredient the country can fully provide for itself.

President Trump last week imposed 25% punitive import tariffs on Chinese products, citing violations of intellectual property rights. Chinese President Xi Jinping responded immediately, slapping 25% retaliatory import tariffs on American products, including soybeans.

As a result of the soybean levy, the cost of food in China will jump, dealing a serious blow to Chinese farmers and eaters.

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