Open Access

An omnipresent topic in the economic news of the current year 2018 were the developments regarding the smoldering trade dispute between the USA and China. Within short periods of time, a downright exchange of strikes between the administrations of the two countries evolved, with the President of the USA, Donald Trump, in particular, pithily announcing to China an increasingly serious threat of sanctions. Although the Chinese side was noticeably striving to de-escalate the verbal dispute, it also presented a series of sanctions which were described in the relevant press as so-called retaliatory tariffs. The reason behind this diplomatic duel, however, has substance. It is evident that the USA and China share an exceptional status with regard to economic fundamentals. The US has the largest international trade deficit of US$ 375.2 billion vis-à-vis China. China, on the other hand, is by far the largest creditor of the USA on an international scale and currently holds around US$ 1.2 trillion in government bonds. Accordingly, China exerts a major economic influence over the USA. This objective situation opposes the subjective self-reflection of the government under President Trump, which hardly misses an opportunity to operate on an international level with the help of supposed deals according to the credo "America first".

Wir befinden uns in einem ökonomisch multipolaren Zeitalter, in dem einzelne Märkte eng in der Weltwirtschaft integriert sind. Hierbei zählt der Aufstieg des Reichs der Mitte zur treibenden Wirtschaftsmacht zu eine der historisch größten Ereignisse der globalen Machtverschiebung. Im Jahr 2013 überholte China die USA und ist zum ersten Mal globaler Exportmeister geworden. Zudem bedeutet dies, dass einzelne Staaten durch die Dominanz von Wirtschaftsmächten wie China und die USA stark abhängig sind. Als der chinesische Staatspräsident Xi Jinping im Jahr 2013 den Aufbau der sogenannten