As Donald Trump escalates threats of new tariffs, China is also moving quickly to save its economy from further stagnation and collapse.
Learning from previous trade wars, Beijing has launched an investigation into alleged antitrust violations against Nvidia and imposed restrictions on rare earth exports, as a way of showing its willingness to negotiate.
With the economy set to grow by just 3% in 2023, China is struggling to avoid a deeper and more severe downturn.
While China's dominance in sectors such as electric vehicles has reduced its need for US products, the country still relies on US chips and a market worth $435 billion in exports.
The US-China Science and Technology Agreement, which expired in August, is also a key focus for renewal.
As an offer, China has pledged to increase purchases of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US, worth $14 billion by 2023.
However, with US business sentiment at its lowest level since 1999, both sides are poised for tense talks.
