The reactivation of U.S. tariff policy has triggered a deep reordering of the global logistics architecture. The epicenter of this impact lies in the Asia-Pacific axis, where China, as the world’s leading export power, has deployed a sophisticated strategy based on alliances and strong trust-based partnerships. In the current context, strategic agreements between states, ports, hubs, and regions may continue to emerge as a way to navigate the constant and unpredictable obstacles of global trade. At this moment, Beijing symbolizes the opposite pole to supply chain uncertainty and unpredictable tariffs, fostering a climate of trust and resilience with new partners and logistical allies.
This week, the latest U.S. inflation data showed a rise to 2.7%, largely driven by the effects of protectionist strategy. While a higher figure had been expected due to recent events and tariff announcements, the data still reflects a growing trend: gradually, the costs of these policies are being passed on to the end consumer, as businesses can no longer absorb the additional import costs. In response, calls have been made from within the U.S. administration for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates—something that has not happened, at least for now.
In this context, China has launched its counter-strategy: logistics diversification, tariff evasion, logistics triangulation, and interport transshipments.
Chinese companies have frontloaded some of their exports ahead of the new tariffs taking effect, using the brief trade truce to accelerate shipments. In June alone, China’s exports rose by 5.8%, demonstrating a surprising tactical agility.
However, exports to the U.S. fell by 9.9% in the first half of the year, while exports to the EU (+7.9%), Southeast Asia (+14.3%), and Africa increased. This decoupling is accompanied by bilateral agreements with partners such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, through which China triangulates its exports—using them as transshipment and assembly hubs—even under the ongoing threat of new tariffs. Simultaneously, China continues to boost its southern ports (Shenzhen, Guangzhou) as departure nodes toward regions not aligned with the U.S. According to Southeast Asian port data, the volume of goods arriving from China for re-export to the U.S. has increased 18% year-on-year. Additionally, China continues to invest in the logistics infrastructure of key allies—such as the Port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka and Piraeus in Greece—facilitating alternative trade routes and reducing direct dependence on U.S. markets.
China has strengthened key sectors such as robotics, electric vehicles, and advanced manufacturing. Its industrial production rose by 6.8% year-on-year in June, and the country maintains its minimum annual growth target of 5%, consolidating its role as a global exporter.
THE BOOMERANG EFFECT
China’s geoeconomic appeal—reliability in contrast to Western volatility—is proving effective, as it attracts new countries that prefer stable trade relationships over the constant swings of tariff policy. The U.S. strategy is facing a diplomatic “boomerang effect.”
Several countries, from Algeria to the United Arab Emirates, are strategically pivoting toward China. The reasons: political predictability versus tariff aggressiveness; a robust industrial capacity that ensures supply even in times of global tension; the expansion of the BRICS bloc with China as the operational hub of the Global South; and the creation of logistics alliances with Turkey, Egypt, and Indonesia as members or partners.
This shift in global supply chains is creating a dual effect: on one side, a Western world that is introspective, protectionist, and inflationary; on the other, a bloc led by China that prioritizes stability, integration, and logistical cooperation. Ports, as the physical nodes of this transformation, are adapting to new routes, players, and rules. The result is a new global logistics balance, with Asia at the epicenter of growth, innovation, and connectivity. U.S. tariff policy is accelerating this shift in the commercial axis. Tariffs of up to 50% on countries like Brazil are causing distortions in the U.S. supply chain, increasing costs for key industries such as automotive, food, and electronics, and forcing a search for alternative suppliers—who are often more expensive or less efficient.
STRENGTHENING THE BRICS AND GROWING TRUST IN THE ASIAN BLOC
Washington’s confrontational policies have accelerated cohesion within the BRICS bloc, which added new members—such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the UAE—at its recent summit held in Rio de Janeiro on July 6–7. This bloc now represents 40% of global GDP and aims to replace the U.S. dollar as the reference currency, posing a threat to American financial dominance. Confidence in the yuan as an alternative transaction currency is rising, with a 25% increase in bilateral trade with Russia and India conducted in yuan.
In this new context, countries of the Global South facing diplomatic tensions or Western sanctions are increasingly aligning with China’s model of trade governance, which focuses on infrastructure investment and energy cooperation. While U.S. tariffs have limited certain Chinese exports in the short term, in the medium and long term, they are helping China reposition itself strategically, solidifying its leadership in non-Western supply chains. As the U.S. faces inflationary and diplomatic strain, China is capitalizing on current trade disruptions through its logistical resilience, technological projection, and trade diplomacy—emerging as the indirect beneficiary of tariff-based policies.
CONTROL OF CRITICAL MATERIALS
China’s push for technological autonomy is also based on control over critical materials—raw resources essential for strategic technologies such as renewable energy, semiconductors, and electric vehicles. This dominance strengthens its role in the geoeconomic rivalry with the United States and other global powers. China controls a dominant portion of the value chain for 25 strategic materials deemed essential by the European Union, including:
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Natural graphite: 65% of global extraction and 100% of refining
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Rare earths: 70% of global production and over 90% of processing
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Gallium: 98% of global extraction
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Germanium: 68% of production
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Tungsten: 85% of global supply
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Antimony: 87%
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Magnesium: 86%
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Metallurgical silicon: 68%
Moreover, China performs nearly 90% of global processing for some of these elements, meaning other producing countries still rely on China for refining.
The shortage or disruption in the supply of these materials directly impacts: batteries (lithium, cobalt, graphite), solar panels (silicon, gallium), wind turbines (rare earths), microchips and semiconductors (germanium, gallium, silicon), as well as medical equipment, defense, telecommunications, and electric motors.
As can be seen, control over these resources has become a tool of geoeconomic, commercial, and diplomatic leverage. The Western bloc’s response lies in strengthening its autonomy, diversifying suppliers (e.g., Greenland, Australia, Canada), enhancing refining and recycling capabilities, and promoting bilateral agreements to ensure secure supply chains.
The market value of these strategic materials is estimated to exceed $400 billion this decade, driven by demand for clean and digital technologies.
The fight for control of critical materials is not just an industrial issue—it is a new form of technological and geostrategic dominance. China is using its control in this area as a lever of power against the West, directly impacting global supply chains, the cost of emerging technologies, and the industrial sovereignty of powers such as the U.S. and the EU. Their response will be key to reshaping the global trade balance in the era of green and digital transition.
The key lies in continuing to develop secure, stable, and integrated corridors built on the logistical strength of free trade zones, in order to consolidate supply chains. And this can only be achieved through strong and enduring alliances between governments, suppliers, businesses, and clients.
