Just days ago, President Trump indicated his trade war with China was entering a more belligerent phase. China’s new, “unheard of” controls on rare earth minerals were “sinister and hostile” and a “moral disgrace,” he fumed, vowing to hit back with 100 percent tariffs on all products from China.

就在几天前，特朗普总统还表示，他与中国的贸易战正进入更具对抗性的阶段。他愤然指责中国对稀土矿物实施的“前所未有”的新管制措施“阴险且充满敌意”，称其为“有违道德”，并放话将对中国所有商品加征100%关税。

“The rest is History,” he said in a social media post.

“接下来的就都是历史了，”他在社交媒体上写道。

Just 48 hours later, Mr. Trump appeared eager to rewrite that history.

然而，仅仅48小时之后，特朗普似乎又急于改写历史。

President Xi Jinping of China was only having a “bad moment,” Mr. Trump said on social media on Sunday. “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine!” He reassured his followers that the United States “wants to help China, not hurt it!!!”

上周日，他在社交媒体上表示，中国国家主席习近平只是“遇到点小问题”。“不必担忧中国，一切自会好转！”他安抚关注者，美国“想帮中国，而不是害它！！！”

The dueling messages appeared to provide a window into an internal tug of war for Mr. Trump over the best way to approach China on trade issues. He has repeatedly seesawed between retaliation and reconciliation, rattling markets, sending businesses scrambling and leaving questions about whether he has a larger strategy.

这些相互矛盾的言论仿佛是一扇窗，展现出特朗普在如何以最合适的方式处理对华贸易问题上的内心拉锯战。他一次又一次在报复与和解之间反复摇摆，不仅引发市场震荡、导致商界疲于应对，更令外界质疑他是否有一个长远战略。

At times, Mr. Trump has taken steps to “decouple” the United States from China, threatening severe tariffs, moving to suspend sales of critical technology and even revoking the visas of Chinese students. But with a potential meeting with Mr. Xi expected this month, Mr. Trump and his aides have also struck a conciliatory tone in hopes of reaching a trade agreement and cementing Mr. Trump’s self-described role as a master deal maker.

特朗普不时采取推动美中“脱钩”的行动——威胁征收高额关税、暂停关键技术出口，甚至吊销中国留学生签证。但随着本月可能与习近平会晤，特朗普及其幕僚又转而采取缓和姿态，期望能达成贸易协议，巩固其自诩的“交易大师”形象。

Both approaches were on display in recent days.

在过去几天里，这两种做法同时上演。

Markets in the United States plunged on Friday amid Mr. Trump’s threats, and then rebounded some on Monday as he seemed to back off. Stocks in Asia, which had closed for the week before Mr. Trump’s bellicose turn, fell on Monday amid fears of an intensified trade war.

受特朗普的威胁言论影响，美国股市在上周五大幅下跌；而随着周一其立场显露软化迹象，市场出现一定程度的反弹。亚洲股市因在特朗普展现强硬姿态前已休市，周一在贸易战升级的担忧下普遍下跌。

Mr. Trump most likely saw China’s curbs on rare earth minerals, which tighten its grip over global manufacturing, as a personal slight, particularly after the two sides agreed to defuse tensions and scale back tariffs in the spring, said Josh Lipsky, the senior director of the Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center, a think tank.

智库“大西洋理事会地缘经济中心”高级主任乔什·利普斯基表示，特朗普很可能将中国针对稀土矿物的出口限制——这一措施加强了中国对全球制造业的控制——视为一种对他的个人冒犯。尤其是在双方于春季刚刚达成缓和紧张局势、降低关税的共识之后。

At the same time, the administration wants to keep a summit with Mr. Xi, and a broader trade agreement, on the table, particularly as American farmers begin to feel the trade war’s toll. Mr. Trump raised the possibility on Friday of canceling the meeting, a threat his Treasury secretary backpedaled on Monday.

与此同时，白宫方面仍希望维持与习近平会晤以及达成更广泛贸易协议的可能性，特别是在美国农民开始感受到贸易战冲击的情况下。特朗普在上周五威胁称可能取消与习近平的会晤，但财政部长在周一澄清了这一说法。

China has halted purchases of American farm products such as soybeans, using U.S. growers to gain leverage in the talks.

中国已暂停采购大豆等美国农产品，以此作为在谈判中施压的筹码。

“We know the pressure the administration’s facing on that front,” Mr. Lipsky said. “So it’s competing priorities, and at any given moment one might win out.”

“我们知道政府在这一方面正面临压力，”利普斯基指出。“所以这其实是几个优先事项之间的竞争，而在某个时刻，总会有一个占上风。”

Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the nonpartisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, said Mr. Trump most likely had two different audiences in mind.

华盛顿无党派机构捍卫民主基金会研究中国问题的高级研究员克雷格·辛格顿指出，特朗普很可能同时在考虑两个不同的受众群体。

“The initial threats were meant to show resolve and punish Beijing’s overreach; the softer tone since is aimed at calming markets and reassuring allies,” Mr. Singleton said. “Trump and his team seem to believe Beijing miscalculated — and they’re leaving room for Xi to walk it back without escalating further.”

辛格顿表示：“最初的威胁意在展现决心，并惩罚北京的越界行为；而之后语气放缓，则是为了安抚市场、安抚盟友。特朗普和他的团队似乎认为北京出现了误判——他们正在为习近平留出余地，让事态不至于进一步升级。”

White House officials did not respond to questions about what prompted Mr. Trump and his aides to change their tone over the weekend.

关于是什么促使特朗普及其幕僚在周末改变态度，白宫官员未作回应。

Rare earth minerals are crucial for making an array of products including motors, brakes, semiconductors and fighter jets. China controls much of the world’s supply, and the minerals have become one of the more pressing sticking points between U.S. and Chinese negotiators.

稀土矿物是制造电机、制动系统、半导体和战斗机等一系列产品的关键材料。中国掌握着全球大部分的稀土供应，这些矿物也成为中美谈判中最棘手的争议焦点之一。

China’s new restrictions would require companies anywhere in the world to obtain licenses if they were exporting products containing even a minimal amount of Chinese-produced rare earths minerals, including for chip manufacturing. Those exports would also be controlled if the minerals were produced using Chinese mining, processing or magnet-making technologies. Companies with any affiliation to foreign militaries would be denied licenses.

根据中国的新限制措施，全球任何企业若出口含有哪怕极少量中国生产的稀土元素（包括用于芯片制造的产品），都必须申请许可证。如果产品使用了中国的开采、加工或磁铁制造技术，这些出口也将受到控制。凡与外国军方有任何关联的企业都将不予颁发许可证。

The restrictions came after the Trump administration took steps to expand its global technology restrictions, and Chinese officials have accused the administration of undermining progress between the two nations.

在中国实施这些管制措施前，特朗普政府已采取行动扩大了美国的全球技术出口限制。中国官方指责美方此举破坏了两国关系的缓和进程。

On Sunday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry pointed to the U.S. Commerce Department’s expansion of the companies subject to sanctions when included on a government “entity list,” a move that would affect many Chinese and Russian firms.

中国商务部上周日指出，美国商务部扩大了列入政府制裁“实体清单”的企业范围，将波及众多中国和俄罗斯公司。

“It’s pretty clear to me that China does not put out the new rare earth restrictions in the absence of the commerce rule,” Mr. Lipsky said. “We had what I would call a kind of temporary truce between the sides over the summer, where neither side wanted to escalate in advance of the two leaders meeting. That was pretty clear on all sides. And the commerce rule was seen by the Chinese as a violation of that, just as what China did on rare earths was seen by the U.S. as a violation.”

利普斯基说：“在我看来很明确的是，若不是因为美国商务部新规，中国不会实施新的稀土管制。今年夏天双方达成了可称之为暂时休战的状态，在两国领导人会晤前都不愿升级矛盾。这点双方都很清楚。而商务部的规定被中方视为违反了这种默契，正如美国也把中国的稀土举措视为一种破坏。”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to calm markets on Monday, saying on the Fox Business Network that Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi could work out their differences before the Nov. 1 deadline that Mr. Trump set for his 100 percent tariffs.

财长斯科特·贝森特周一试图安抚市场，他在福克斯商业频道表示，特朗普与习近平有望在11月1日前——该日期是特朗普为其拟征收的100%关税设定的期限——达成共识。

Mr. Bessent said that the Trump administration was working to find a way to stabilize the finances of farmers.

贝森特称，特朗普政府正努力寻找办法帮助农民改善财务状况。

“The Chinese have unfortunately turned our soybean farmers into pawns,” Mr. Bessent said. “They’re trying to manipulate them, and our farmers overwhelmingly back President Trump.”

“不幸的是，中方把我们的豆农当成了谈判的棋子，”贝森特表示。“他们试图操纵这些农民，但我们的农民仍然压倒性地支持特朗普总统。”

Vice President JD Vance also appeared to leave a door open to a deal with China during an appearance on Fox News on Sunday. Mr. Vance reiterated that Mr. Trump appreciated the friendship he had developed with Mr. Xi.

副总统JD·万斯周日在福克斯新闻露面时，也暗示与中国仍有达成协议的可能性。万斯重申，特朗普珍视与习近平建立的友谊。

But he also warned China not to “respond in an aggressive manner.”

但同时他也警告中国不要“采取激进的回应方式”。

“I guarantee you the president of the United States has far more cards than the People’s Republic of China,” Mr. Vance said.

万斯说：“我可以保证，美国总统手中的牌远比中华人民共和国的多。”

Whether the administration will have the same leverage in the months to come is uncertain. Mr. Vance noted that the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear arguments over the administration’s use of emergency authorities to impose tariffs.

不过，未来几个月美国政府是否还能保住这些筹码尚未可知。万斯指出，最高法院已安排就政府运用紧急授权实施关税的措施进行辩论。

“Unless we have access to this tariff authority, it’s going to be very hard to negotiate with China,” Mr. Vance said.

“除非我们拥有这项关税授权，否则与中国谈判将异常艰难，”万斯表示。