Negotiation Strategies for the China-US Trade War in 2025: A Perspective of Interest Balance and Cross-Cultural Conflict

Abstract

Since Donald Trump assumed office as U.S. President in 2017, he has enshrined America First as his core governing doctrine, steering U.S. foreign strategy away from globalism toward localism and economic nationalism. Against this backdrop, the U.S. administration launched a series of trade investigations targeting China and unilaterally instigated trade frictions and an all-out trade war, citing the bilateral merchandise trade deficit as its primary justification. Set against the context of the 2025 China-US trade war, this study adopts an analytical framework rooted in international business negotiation theories-including game theory and cultural dimension theory-and incorporates real-world dynamics such as tariff adjustments, technological sanctions, and supply chain reconfiguration. Drawing on historical cases from the 2018-2024 rounds of trade tensions, this paper designs concrete negotiation strategies and conflict resolution solutions. The findings recommend strengthening US trade policy coordination and institutional cooperation, enhancing cross-cultural trade competence for enterprises in both nations, and boosting people-to-people exchanges to foster a constructive trading environment. This research aims to deliver theoretical support and practical guidance for the steady development of US trade relations and advance mutually beneficial outcomes in bilateral economic cooperation.