[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6074230,"mediaKeyId","2986386-cef5073d6bb59e5bcc90f6bb2e866dfe","parentId",2986386,"title","Journalist: tariffs could trigger a U.S.–China trade war; both sides nonetheless have leverage to strike a deal","audioSeconds",1375,"startMs",1971000,"endMs",3346000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2986386-cef5073d6bb59e5bcc90f6bb2e866dfe&start=1971&end=3346","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2986386-cef5073d6bb59e5bcc90f6bb2e866dfe/thumbnail_1971000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6074230/Missoula/Missoula-County/Montana/Journalist-tariffs-could-trigger-a-USChina-trade-war-both-sides-nonetheless-have-leverage-to-strike-a-deal","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6074230-f5c084ab51cadb9026a46fb0ff111ea1/orig.mp4?Expires=1773655286&Signature=MOrepWjs-51nOdOaqV4EI1mP1OiTNKakC6FDkAXGE5fL5P7ymsklDk53SNywDrW0FXVbZFwF~XbS7G7sK3BUszI4BMXYkyyLsOyu3V4XFgDmaESCg5qKhAt3gtz8xkh-~NOPTB5rx1xa5y41mUG5yO9BBBrO7j8uL69YQ9EKzUpnCylUHCyDA~qjnrSzFtamyDkS2WWarbP2nowbWxfkaEAKVKpT1ZDa8HfH~7qLoOq6-SK2am6H2AMKCp470Xhs7Bw8BAFtLZgh~9xqPP4bPIW4QgU7ZG0n95Bjgusd~-wStEdn8wPxEV8q4daOn8cxDnGDzvX-gH3OGhPIinRqyA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Missoula, MT","date","2025-04-14T17:06:08Z","article","Dexter Roberts, a journalist who has reported from China, told the Montana World Affairs Council conference that an imminent wave of tariffs proposed by the incoming U.S. administration could prompt swift Chinese retaliation and risk a wider trade conflict.

Roberts outlined why China and the United States might prefer a negotiated accord: China is still recovering consumer confidence and would want to avoid a disruptive trade war; the U.S. risks adding to inflation and unsettling financial markets if tariffs on Chinese goods become broader. Roberts said both sides therefore have negotiating levers that could be used to de-escalate.

He described concrete items that could form part of a deal: Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products and energy, continued purchases of U.S. Treasury securities, enhanced Chinese cooperation on reducing flows of fentanyl precursors, and limits on Chinese currency devaluation. On the U.S. side, Roberts listed possible concessions that could be negotiated back from current policy: easing some technology and investment restrictions, reconsidering the future of permanent normal trade relations, and allowing Chinese investment in U.S. manufacturing—especially electric vehicle factories—if they create domestic jobs.

Roberts noted high-profile specific flashpoints. He described the deadline tied to a U.S. law involving TikTok and said that, without a buyer for the U.S. subsidiary or an administrative extension, the platform’s U.S. operations faced removal. He also described tighter U.S. export- and investment-controls on advanced semiconductors and related technologies and how those measures have grown under recent administrations.

Regarding China’s posture, Roberts discussed mechanisms Beijing has used to respond to U.S. trade measures, including rapid retaliatory tariffs and enforcement actions against foreign companies operating in China. He cited the Chinese \"anti-foreign sanctions\" framework in recent years and said regulators had summoned U.S. firms, such as Walmart, over business conduct they deemed potentially disruptive to the domestic market.

Roberts referenced a recent visit by U.S. Senator Steve Daines to China and a meeting he said took place with Premier Li Qiang, and he said those talks touched on fentanyl precursors and the possibility of a Xi Jinping–Donald Trump summit. Roberts described reports that President Trump had expressed interest in a summit and said tariffs being announced on \"Liberation Day\" could postpone any such meeting.

Roberts warned that domestic U.S. political figures and some legislators would oppose a broad rapprochement with Beijing, especially where national security and human-rights issues intersect. He said that while a dramatic reversal toward a summit and de-escalation is possible, the outcome is uncertain and depends on rapid policy choices on both sides.

Audience questions then shifted the session toward a brief discussion of treaty credibility, Taiwan and whether past verbal assurances about NATO expansion carried binding weight; Roberts and the panel did not announce any negotiated outcomes or formal actions.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","The 22nd Annual International Conference on Central and Southwest Asia 3","oneSentenceSummary","Dexter Roberts said a tariff increase by the United States could prompt immediate Chinese retaliation, that China and the U.S. both have incentives to de-escalate, and he described items that could form the basis of a deal or a confrontation, including agricultural purchases, TikTok negotiations and technology restrictions.","taxTitle","Missoula, Missoula County, Montana","taxId",4050,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6074235,"Scholar traces Russia’s recent moves to Soviet collapse, NATO expansion and Crimea annexation",1802,148000,1950000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2986386-cef5073d6bb59e5bcc90f6bb2e866dfe&start=148&end=1950","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2986386-cef5073d6bb59e5bcc90f6bb2e866dfe/thumbnail_148000.jpg","/articles/6074235/Missoula/Missoula-County/Montana/Scholar-traces-Russias-recent-moves-to-Soviet-collapse-NATO-expansion-and-Crimea-annexation","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6074235-e1e013aa16293f4f64ca08d72cfc66b4/orig.mp4?Expires=1773655286&Signature=XUwW6CWKmWaRyFrr~o7mkal5u1GuxR07jQ0at6~IKn8P7fPD0oTEsFcGp1R585ikS-GdvWHdLp8V-Fm3aHgSQiGwAa8VDIRSDto0L9JBYl4eHq1LVWV-MGYzhdpy~kXk1-3vnSwl0v3pUNvP73XY1HxtlKThJSIJqmDJBLEK1TqdFECnDnSb35cBUbrE0JzX9jSQIpak4S3koNAtYd-vgcMtXdKFayt1VFUODu4LhYUXiYInM14IU2bdNNoa677llDN9-OM5TthrVMLFXRXIfSxLN2pFgPHIgHsfjJqPAWHlkUJjvEHWI8DQPVQqAov08omXD4Q3k-UeCUsp-ddc5Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Professor Clint Walker, a faculty member in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, said historical events from the Christianization of Kievan Rus' to the collapse of the Soviet Union shape Russia’s contemporary foreign policy and Vladimir Putin’s worldview.

Walker told attendees that three figures—Prince Volodymyr (the medieval Christianizer of Rus'), Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Vladimir V. Putin—offer touchpoints for understanding Russia’s sense of history and grievance. He said Putin regards the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union as a seismic loss; Walker quoted Putin’s characterization of that event as \"the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the twentieth century,\" as recounted by Walker during the presentation.

Walker said the legacy of World War II—known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War—and the mass deaths suffered during the siege of Leningrad are central to Putin’s political identity. He noted Putin’s birth date, Oct. 7, 1952, and linked symbolic ties between the postwar Soviet-era institutions and Putin’s generation.

The scholar traced more recent grievances to NATO enlargement and disputed diplomatic assurances from the early 1990s. Walker described NATO’s growth from roughly a dozen founding members after World War II to 32 members today and said many Russians view expansion as a security threat. He invoked the speeches and writings of U.S. policymakers from the post–Cold War era, including James Baker and Zbigniew Brzezinski, as background that has been cited in Russian critiques of Western policy toward the former Soviet space.

Walker reviewed the 2014 seizure and annexation of Crimea, saying it occurred after a Russian-speaking majority in the peninsula and a Russian military presence. He reported figures mentioned in the presentation—that post-annexation ballots reported near-unanimous votes to rejoin Russia—and emphasized that, under international law, the annexation was a violation because it followed military occupation. Walker also highlighted divisions within Ukraine between western regions oriented toward the EU and eastern regions with larger Russian-speaking populations, and he recounted the contested political history that preceded full-scale hostilities.

In audience questions, Walker said he opposed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. \"I did not... I disagreed with the special military operation. I came out speaking out against it in the media,\" he said, and added that Ukraine \"has an absolute right to its independence, its sovereignty.\" He also said he supports negotiations to end the war and that Russian perspectives have been underrepresented in Western coverage.

Walker recommended further reading to place contemporary events in context, including works by Samuel P. Huntington and commentary he said has shaped Russian interpretation of Western strategy.

The presentation combined historical overview and contemporary analysis to explain why, in Walker’s view, Russian leaders and many Russian-speaking communities reacted as they did after 1991, while also reiterating his explicit opposition to the military invasion of Ukraine.","Professor Clint Walker told a Montana World Affairs Council conference that historical memory, NATO enlargement and the 2014 annexation of Crimea help explain, though not justify, Vladimir Putin’s actions toward Ukraine.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Journalist: tariffs could trigger a U.S.–China trade war; both sides nonetheless have leverage to strike a deal

Scholar traces Russia’s recent moves to Soviet collapse, NATO expansion and Crimea annexation