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Trade wars: How the Chinese consumer can bring Trump down on his knees

When relations with South Korea deteriorated last year over Seoul's decision to deploy a missile shield, Chinese civil society went straight for the jugular

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Chinese and US flags are set up for a meeting during a visit by US Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao at China's Ministry of Transport in Beijing, China | Photo: Reuters

David Fickling | Bloomberg
There’s a dog that hasn’t barked in the current round of trade tensions between the U.S. and China: Despite the first direct tariffs coming into force Friday, the Chinese consumer has been on her best behavior.

That’s somewhat unusual if you consider Beijing’s most recent diplomatic spats with its trading partners.

When relations with South Korea deteriorated last year over Seoul’s decision to deploy a missile shield, Chinese civil society went straight for the jugular.

Yang Bingyang, a former model who's known online as Ayawawa, encouraged her 2.7 million Weibo followers to boycott Korean products. “Every penny we spend is a vote on