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CNN

RLK: Well certainly it’s a concern, but I would call it a
minor annoyance as opposed to something extremely
serious. They have a lot on their plate here. The last
thing they want is a trade war with the U.S., but they
have to react. If the U.S. does something, there has to be
something that they will do in retaliation. They will
ratchet it down. They will signal, as you do, that they do
not want to accelerate this, but to save face and to be
appropriate, they’ll have to match it.

HOST: To you Minxin Pei, how do you see this playing
out?

[Image: Man speaking on CNN broadcast]
CNN

MP: If the investigations find China at fault, or guilty of
some practices, then the US has a wide range of options
to punish China on a trade front. And if these things
happen, then US-China trade war will take place.
Another thing I want to say is that US-China relations
have turned a corner. This is a relationship that has
headed toward a long period of confrontation, and
adversarial relationships. So what is going to happen
on the trade front is part of a much larger picture of
geopolitical rivalry, if not competition.

[Image: Split screen on CNN showing two men and a host]
CNN

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