China's exports jumped 12.4% in March from a year earlier as companies rushed to beat increases in U.S. tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, the government said Monday. Imports fell 4.3%, the customs administration reported.

Optimistic Chinese observers even held out hope for a grand bargain with Trump over trade, TikTok – and perhaps even Taiwan. This account of how China shifted from seeking a deal to punching back with retaliatory tariffs and threatening all-out defiance is based on interviews with more than a dozen people,

President Donald Trump has eased new tariffs on most trading partners, but experts say his searing new 145% tariff rate on China could draw a very harsh response from Beijing that would hurt homebuyers in the U.