As trade tensions between the US and China escalate again, Thursday's phone call between former US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping has once again turned the attention of global markets to the relationship between the two superpowers. The call, announced by China's official news agency Xinhua, was the first direct contact between the two leaders since their last contact in January. However, this contact does not mean that tensions will ease. This is because both sides accuse each other of reneging on the temporary trade truce reached in Geneva last month. This tension is creating a new environment that could affect both commodity prices and the course of Bitcoin and other digital assets
Trump: “Xi is extremely difficult to deal with”
According to the Financial Times, just a day before the meeting, Trump had described Chinese leader Xi as “an extremely difficult person to deal with”. This statement was seen as a signal that the US would take a tougher stance against Beijing, while Washington's criticism of China's failure to fulfill its promises gained momentum. US officials are particularly concerned about delays in licensing processes for the export of rare earth elements and magnets. These materials are used in many critical sectors, from defense to electronics, and the US side argues that China is deliberately restricting the flow of these products.
Beijing, for its part, accuses Washington of seriously violating the Geneva agreement. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has said that the new US warnings on the global use of Huawei chips, the halt on the sale of chip design software to Chinese companies and the revocation of visas for Chinese students are completely contrary to the spirit of the agreement.
These mutual accusations suggest that a new compromise between the two countries will be difficult in the near term. Moreover, this crisis has not only affected the traditional trade sphere, but also wider areas such as technology and education.
What does it mean for Bitcoin and crypto markets?
A deepening trade war could affect cryptocurrency markets as much as traditional financial markets. In particular, new sanctions or supply chain disruptions between the US and China could trigger investors to turn to safe-haven assets. At this point, decentralized assets such as Bitcoin may come to the fore again during periods of increased geopolitical risks.
