Why Trump should be cautious of the wrath of the Chinese consumer

Consumer goods could be Washington's Achilles' heel in the trade war

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

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