By | One Voice
Published | April 30, 2025
Seven Years into the U.S.-China Trade War: Life Quietly Changes for Chinese Americans
It has been seven years since the Trump administration ignited the U.S.-China trade war in March 2018 by imposing tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. Since then, tensions have remained high, with the Biden administration continuing a tough stance on China and both countries locked in a broad competition over technology, investment, and immigration.
According to a 2025 report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, over 2,500 Chinese products are still subject to additional tariffs, and bilateral trade has declined by roughly 18% compared to 2018.
Beyond reshaping global supply chains and pricing structures, this prolonged trade war has had a deep, though often invisible, impact on Chinese communities in the United States.
Economic Pressure Hits Hard: Small Businesses Take the First Blow
For small-scale importers, retailers, and restaurant owners who rely on Chinese goods, rising costs have become an unavoidable reality.
Mr. Zhou, who has operated a gift wholesale business in California’s San Gabriel Valley for over 20 years, shared that his sourcing costs have risen by an average of 22% since 2020, while inflation has shrunk retail demand by around 10%.
“Some items don’t sell even after price hikes. But if we don’t raise prices, we’re basically losing money on every sale.”
— Mr. Zhou, Gift Wholesaler
According to the Los Angeles Times, about 12% of small- to medium-sized businesses in L.A.’s Chinese communities shut down in 2024 due to trade-related disruptions, rising rent, or labor shortages—nearly twice the pre-pandemic rate.
Growing Scrutiny in the Workplace: Professional Chinese Americans Under Strain
Chinese professionals working in tech, academia, and government-adjacent sectors are experiencing a different kind of pressure.
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice expanded its enforcement under a revamped version of the “China Initiative,” now called Project Safeguard, leading to a number of high-profile investigations targeting Chinese American scholars and engineers. While many were eventually cleared, their careers suffered long-term consequences.
A survey by Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) found that 27% of Asian tech workers in 2024 felt they had been “specifically monitored or excluded from projects due to their ethnic background,” with Chinese Americans making up the highest proportion.
“In the past year, our company quietly sidelined engineers with Chinese backgrounds from core projects when applying for government contracts.”
— Ms. Zhang, Software Engineer
Chill in the Social Climate: Subtle Waves of Xenophobia
Structural changes have also subtly shifted the social atmosphere for many Chinese Americans.
While the Biden administration has publicly condemned anti-Asian hate crimes, the Stop AAPI Hate coalition still recorded over 3,500 incidents of discrimination or hate targeting Asian Americans in 2024, with nearly 60% of victims identifying as Chinese.
“Getting yelled at on the street—‘China Virus!’—that’s no longer news.”
— Ms. Huang, Office Worker in Queens, New York
Community Response: Legal Aid, Mental Health, and Civic Engagement
In response to growing pressures, Chinese American communities across the country have begun mobilizing in various ways:
Legal Support | San Jose, California established the Asian Legal Defense Fund, offering legal consultation and representation for employment, immigration, and discrimination cases involving Chinese Americans.
Mental Health Services | In the Boston area, a “Mandarin Mental Health Hotline” was launched, providing free one-on-one counseling to lower cultural and language barriers to seeking help.
Public Engagement | In 2024, 25 Chinese Americans were elected to local public office across the U.S.—a 40% increase compared to 2018.
“The crisis made many realize—we can’t stay on the sidelines anymore. We have to be part of the change.”
— Lin Siyen, a City Council-member from Southern California
Looking Ahead: Surviving in an Era of Prolonged Rivalry
Experts warn that as U.S.-China tensions shift into a “prolonged cold rivalry,” Chinese Americans may have to adapt to a new normal of dual pressures—economic and social.
“If the Chinese American community hopes to maintain or elevate its standing in U.S. society, we must prioritize civic engagement, broaden our understanding of civil rights, and build stronger interethnic alliances.”
— Dr. Wang Lizhong, Professor of Sociology at a top-ranking university
In a world increasingly defined by uncertainty, finding new ways to position and empower themselves will be one of the defining challenges for Chinese Americans in the decade ahead.
Further Reading:
Asian Scientists in the Crossfire of U.S.-China Tech Tensions | Initium Media, 2024
Seven Years of Trade War: U.S. Small Business Survey | Bloomberg Businessweek, 2024
Stop AAPI Hate Annual Report | Stop AAPI Hate, 2024
(All names mentioned in the article are pseudonyms.)
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