As the trade war between the United States and China kicked back into high gear after a period of tentative détente, it was clear just how vast the gulf of misunderstanding between the two superpowers had become.

美中贸易战在经历一段暂歇后再度升温，这清楚地表明，两个超级大国之间的误解鸿沟是多么巨大。

President Trump said that he had been blindsided by China’s new controls on rare earth metals and products made from them, announced earlier in the week, amid what he had called a “very good” relationship in recent months. Chinese commentators insisted that Beijing was only responding to new attacks from the United States, and that Washington was the provocateur, because it had ramped up technological restrictions on China while professing good will.

特朗普总统表示，他对中国上周宣布的对稀土金属及其制品新的出口管制措施感到措手不及，他认为近几个月来两国关系“非常好”。中国的评论人士坚称，北京只不过是在回应美国的新攻势，华盛顿才是始作俑者，因为美国政府在宣称善意的同时加大了对中国的技术限制。

Both sides also seemed convinced that they had the advantage and that the other side had overplayed its hand.

双方也似乎坚信自己占据优势，对方高估了自己的筹码。

The blame game continued on Saturday, as China woke up to Mr. Trump’s announcement that he would impose new 100 percent tariffs on Chinese imports from Nov. 1. The Chinese government on Sunday accused the United States of double standards, saying its rare earth export controls were normal, and that it was America that had long abused such controls and adopted discriminatory practices against China in the name of national security.

特朗普宣布将从11月1日起对中国出口美国的产品加征100%关税，中国在周六获知这个消息后继续责怪美国。中国政府周日指责美国奉行双重标准，称中国的稀土出口管制是正当做法，美国则长期以来滥用出口管制，以国家安全的名义对中国采取歧视性做法。

On the threat of more tariffs, the Commerce Ministry said the two sides should resolve issues through talks, but China would take measures in response if the United States “insists on its own course.”

关于进一步加征关税的威胁，中国商务部表示，双方应该通过谈判来解决问题，但如果美国“一意孤行”，中国将采取相应措施。

“China’s position on a tariff war is consistent: We do not want one, but we are not afraid of one either,” the ministry said in a statement.

“对于关税战，中方的立场是一贯的，我们不愿打，但也不怕打，”商务部在一份声明中表示。

President Trump’s tariff threat highlighted the huge stakes involved in having control over the raw materials and technologies, such as rare earth metals and batteries, that will power the next generation of industry.

特朗普的关税威胁凸显了控制稀土金属和电池等原材料和技术所涉及的巨大利害关系，这些原材料和技术将驱动下一代的工业。

江西龙南郊外的一个重稀土金属矿，摄于今年4月。特朗普说，他对中国关于稀土金属及其制品宣布的新出口管制感到措手不及。

But if neither side backs down, the new hostilities seem all but certain to spill beyond trade. They could also affect other areas that the two countries had been hoping to make headway on in their relationship, such as military-to-military communication and the governance of artificial intelligence.

但如果双方都拒绝让步，新的对抗几乎肯定会波及到贸易以外的领域。这种对抗可能影响到两国一直希望在双边关系上取得进展的其他领域，例如军队之间的沟通和人工智能的管理。

“The situation is quite surprising, considering that there have already been four rounds of China-U.S. trade negotiations,” Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Nanjing University, said in an interview, referring to meetings between officials since May that had taken place in Geneva, London, Stockholm and Madrid.

“考虑到中美贸易谈判已经进行了四轮，目前的情况相当出人意料，”南京大学国际关系学院教授朱锋在接受采访时说，他指的是两国官员自今年5月以来在日内瓦、伦敦、斯德哥尔摩，以及马德里的会晤。

President Trump said last month that he had also expected to meet with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, in person in South Korea this month. But on Friday he said, “Now there seems to be no reason to do so.”

特朗普上个月表示，他曾预计本月在韩国与中国国家主席习近平举行面对面的会晤。但他上周五说，“现在看来没有理由见面。”

“This is a very stark reminder that the fragility in China-U.S. relations is deepening,” Professor Zhu said.

“这非常清楚地提醒着我们，中美关系的脆弱性正在加剧，”朱锋说。

The new trade tensions showed that the United States and China defined the rivalry between them in fundamentally different ways. To Mr. Trump, issues such as trade and technology could be addressed separately — that is, the United States expects to be able to continue to escalate its technology restrictions on China while simultaneously seeking a big trade deal between the countries.

新一轮的贸易紧张局势表明，美中对两国间竞争的定义存在根本性分歧。对特朗普来说，贸易与技术等问题可以分开来处理，也就是说，美国认为它在持续升级对华技术限制的同时，又能与中国达成一项重大的贸易协议。

But to China, trade and technology are part of what Beijing perceives as an all-around effort by the United States to suppress China.

但对中国来说，贸易战和技术限制是中国政府认为的美国全方位打压中国努力的一部分。

“If the trade talks fail, I’m deeply concerned that the all-fronts confrontation between the two sides will escalate,” Professor Zhu said.

“如果贸易谈判失败的话，我极为担心双方的全面对抗将升级，”朱锋说。

While Mr. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, accused China of introducing its rare earths controls “out of nowhere,” Chinese commentators maintained that the escalation was Washington’s fault.

特朗普在“真相社交”的一则贴文中指责中国“突然”对稀土出口采取管制措施，中国的评论人士却坚持认为，贸易战升级是华盛顿的错。

特朗普和中国最高领导人习近平2019年在日本大阪。两位领导人曾预计本月在韩国会面，但特朗普已在周五表示，“现在看来没有理由见面。”

“What is Trump feeling wronged about?” Hu Xijin, the influential former editor of Global Times, a Communist Party-controlled newspaper, wrote on Weibo, a social media platform. “What is he angry about? He should first understand what the U.S. has done to China!”

“特朗普他委屈什么？愤怒什么？”胡锡进在社交媒体平台微博上写道，他曾任中共控制的报纸《环球时报》的总编辑，颇有影响力。“他应该先搞清楚美国都对中国做了什么事情！”

Mr. Hu suggested that China’s rare earth controls were merely a response to new measures from the United States targeting China, including expanding the list of Chinese companies to which it restricts exports. He said the country had grown more confident in its ability to endure intense pressure tactics from Washington.

胡锡进认为，中国对稀土进行出口管制只不过是在回应美国针对中国的新限制措施，包括扩大受美国出口限制的中国企业的名单。他说，中国对于承受华盛顿的强力施压战术有更大的信心。

“Chinese society is really not afraid of the United States now, and high U.S. tariffs and other levers have lost their deterrent effect on China,” he said by text message.

“中国社会现在真的不怕美国了，美国的高额关税和其他手段已经失去了对中国的威慑力，”他在发给记者的短信中写道。

Still, the sweep of China’s new rare earths controls struck many observers as a dramatic escalation. They prohibit any shipments of critical materials to producers of military equipment in Europe and the United State and bar the transfer out of China of equipment or information that would help other countries establish their own production.

尽管如此，中国新出台的稀土出口管制措施范围之广令许多观察人士视其为一个令人吃惊的升级。新规禁止将关键材料出口到欧美军事装备生产商，并禁止将有助于其他国家自主生产这种材料的设备或信息转移出中国。

China’s boldness may have stemmed from an assessment that Mr. Trump is in a weak position. Mr. Trump’s trade negotiators proved willing earlier this summer to strike compromises on tariffs, and the president has expressed eagerness to visit China. China’s boycott of soybean purchases from the United States has badly hurt American farmers.

中国的强硬也许出于对特朗普处于弱势地位的评估。特朗普的贸易谈判代表曾在今年夏初表现出愿意在关税问题上妥协，总统本人也表达了迫切希望访问中国的意愿。中国抵制购买美国大豆的做法已严重损害了美国农民的利益。

American domestic politics are in turmoil, with the government shut down. And despite promises by the United States to wean itself off its reliance on China for rare earth metals, that prospect remains distant.

美国的国内政治正陷入混乱，政府停摆。尽管美国放话要摆脱对中国稀土金属的依赖，但这个前景仍然遥不可及。

China, on the other hand, is riding high from a large-scale military parade last month, at which it showcased advanced new weaponry and reaffirmed its ties with Russia and North Korea.

另一方面，中国则信心十足，它刚在上个月举行了一场盛大的阅兵式，期间展示了先进的新武器，并重申了与俄罗斯和朝鲜的关系。

“China certainly knew Trump would react strongly, and it didn’t underestimate him,” said Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing. “But there are several areas where China has the upper hand.”

“中国当然知道特朗普会做出强烈反应，中国没有低估他，”北京人民大学国际关系教授王义桅说。“但中国在一些领域有优势。”

China may be hoping to use its leverage to push Mr. Trump toward a bigger agreement on other issues in the U.S.-China relationship, beyond just trade, he said.

他表示，中国也许希望利用这些筹码，推动特朗普在中美关系的其他问题上达成更全面的协议，而不只是贸易协议。

Beijing also wants the Trump administration to make concessions on its support for Taiwan, the island democracy Beijing claims as its territory, as well as on the controls it has imposed on advanced semiconductor chips, which China needs for the development of artificial intelligence, among other ambitions.

中国政府还希望特朗普政府在支持台湾上做出让步——中国声称台湾是其领土，并在限制先进半导体芯片的出口上做出让步，中国需要这些芯片，以实现发展人工智能等目标。

宁波一条汽车装配线上的工人正在把电池安装到电动汽车底架上，摄于今年3月。特朗普的关税威胁凸显了控制稀土金属和电池等原材料和技术所涉及的巨大利害关系，这些原材料和技术将驱动下一代的工业。

China’s tough measures may also be a signal to the domestic audience to have confidence, despite the country’s economic slowdown and the housing market crash. And it may be a message to other countries and regions, including the European Union, that have come under pressure from Washington to choose sides between the two superpowers that they should not underestimate China.

中国的强硬措施或许也是向国内民众发出的信号，尽管面临经济放缓和房地产市场崩溃，但仍应对国家保持信心。同时，这也可能是向其他国家和地区（包括欧盟）传递它们不应低估中国的信息，这些国家和地区已受到美国要求它们在两个超级大国之间选边站队的压力。

“This tells you that China is very confident and powerful,” Professor Wang said. “Don’t be afraid. Don’t sacrifice China to curry favor with the United States.”

“这是在向外界表明，中国非常自信而且有实力，”王义桅说。“别害怕。不要为了讨好美国而牺牲中国。”

But some experts warned that Beijing had overplayed its hand and that officials had miscalculated how aggressively Mr. Trump would respond.

但有专家警告称，北京出招过猛，政府官员对特朗普会发起的强烈反击估计不足。

Yun Sun, the director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said Beijing had cultivated a “dangerous new habit” of underestimating the American willingness and capability to retaliate.

华盛顿史汀生中心中国项目主任孙韵表示，中国政府已养成了一个“危险的新习惯”，即低估美国的报复意愿和能力。

China may have assumed that a summit between Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi was locked in and that the U.S. was eager for a deal. The Trump administration backed down after first imposing additional tariffs in April of as much as 145 percent, leaving an extra tariff of 30 percent while China has retained an extra tariff of 10 percent on American goods.

中国也许认为，特朗普与习近平的峰会已成定局，美国渴望达成贸易协议。特朗普政府今年4月宣布对中国商品征收高达145%的关税后做出了让步，只保留了30%的额外关税，中国则保留了对美国商品征收的10%额外关税。

“Where the U.S. was showing good will, China saw a manifestation of American weaknesses,” Dr. Sun wrote in an email.

“中国在美国展现的诚意中看到的是美国软弱，”孙韵在一封电子邮件中写道。

Professor Zhu, of Nanjing University, acknowledged that even as China moved to defend its interests, it should be cautious about Mr. Trump’s unpredictability.

南京大学的朱锋承认，在中国采取行动捍卫自身利益的同时，也应该对特朗普的不可预测性保持警惕。

“If the trade war escalates further, that is definitely not in China’s interests,” he said.

“如果贸易战进一步升级，那肯定不符合中国的利益，”他说。

Indeed, should Mr. Trump’s additional 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods take effect, they could batter the economy even more. Exports to the United States — either directly or through countries like Vietnam and Mexico — have helped keep the economy afloat.

的确，如果特朗普对中国商品加征100%关税的命令生效，中国经济会受到更沉重的打击。中国对美国的出口——无论是直接出口还是通过越南和墨西哥等国转口——已帮助维持中国经济不再下沉。