Countries recalibrating their ties with China are doing so against a backdrop of growing trade and diplomatic uncertainty driven by President Donald Trump’s increasingly muscular use of tariffs and regulatory threats.
Analysts believe Trump’s strategy is increasingly reshaping alliances and redrawing geopolitical calculations, often to Beijing’s advantage.
National leaders from Europe, North America, and beyond are now streaming into Beijing seeking to reopen channels with President Xi Jinping, shifting the context markedly from the last U.S.-China trade war. This time, Washington’s pressure is not aimed solely at China. It is spreading across allies and partners, creating incentives for governments to hedge by deepening engagement with the world’s second-largest economy.
That dynamic was underscored this week by Trump’s escalation of tensions with Canada, one of America’s closest allies. On Thursday, Trump said the United States was decertifying Bombardier Global Express business jets and threatened to impose a 50% import tariff on all aircraft made in Canada unless the country’s aviation regulator certified several planes produced by U.S. rival Gulfstream.
“If, for any reason, this situation is not immediately corrected, I am going to charge Canada a 50% Tariff on any and all aircraft sold into the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to the certification process for Gulfstream jets.
He added that he was “decertifying their Bombardier Global Expresses, and all Aircraft made in Canada” until the issue was resolved.
The declaration landed amid broader strains between Washington and Ottawa. Just days earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had urged countries to accept what he described as the end of the rules-based global order that the United States once championed, citing the disruptive effects of U.S. trade policy. Carney’s remarks reflected a growing unease among U.S. allies about the durability of long-standing economic frameworks.
The aviation threat, if fully implemented, would ripple far beyond Bombardier. U.S. carriers such as American Airlines and Delta Air Lines rely heavily on Canadian-made aircraft for regional services. Data from Cirium shows that there are approximately 150 Global Express aircraft registered in the U.S., operated by 115 operators, and roughly 5,425 Canadian-made aircraft of various types — including narrowbodies, regional jets, and helicopters — registered and in service in the country.
For analysts, the incident illustrates how Trump’s trade tactics are spilling into regulatory and technical domains that were once insulated from political pressure. More broadly, it reinforces why many countries are seeking to diversify economic relationships — and why China stands to benefit.
As Britain, Canada, Ireland, South Korea, Finland, and others send leaders to Beijing, the visits are not signaling a clean break with Washington. Security ties with the U.S. remain central for many of these countries. Instead, the outreach reflects a desire to reduce exposure to policy shocks emanating from the White House, particularly as tariffs, threats, and abrupt shifts have become a recurring feature of U.S. engagement.
China, for its part, has positioned itself as a counterweight to that volatility. Beijing has emphasized predictability, market access, and long-term investment, even as it advances its own strategic and technological ambitions. Business deals announced during recent state visits — from pharmaceuticals to agriculture and electric vehicles — have reinforced the perception that economic engagement with China can deliver tangible results.
At the same time, Beijing has been careful to frame these renewed ties as pragmatic cooperation rather than ideological alignment. Chinese officials have urged visiting governments to create fair environments for Chinese companies operating abroad, while promoting China as a stabilizing force in a fragmented global economy.
The contrast with Washington’s approach has not gone unnoticed. Trump’s willingness to threaten tariffs on allies, decertify products, and openly question multilateral norms is prompting governments to rethink assumptions that guided decades of U.S.-led globalization. While the United States remains the world’s largest economy and a central trading partner for many countries, its leverage is now being exercised in ways that carry political and economic costs.
In that environment, China’s appeal lies less in trust than in optionality. Governments are preserving room to maneuver in an increasingly polarized world by keeping channels with Beijing open.
Analysts believe these moves amount to hedging — not choosing China over the U.S., but ensuring that no single power can dictate economic outcomes unilaterally. It is also believed that China’s ability to strengthen its global influence based on this trend will depend on how far Washington pushes its trade agenda and how effectively Beijing manages its own economic challenges.
