Four Corners on ABC and ABC iview S65E13 America v China – It’s the trade war that has played out in public for years, but what’s really happening between the United States and China in private?
This week on Four Corners, the first of a special two-part series by acclaimed filmmaker Norma Percy takes you inside the rooms where those decisions were made, according to the people who were there.
Days before Donald Trump came to power in 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping proudly told his global counterparts that he believed in the value and importance of free trade.
But the moment Trump walked into the White House, he turned the countries’ relationship on its head and promised to “make China pay”.
What follows is a series of calls, meetings and missteps that quickly escalate into a full-blown trade war.
As tensions grow, so too do the battlegrounds: technology, security and global influence all become part of the picture. Allies are pressured to take sides, and countries like Australia and the UK find themselves caught in the middle.
This is the inside story of how two superpowers, deeply connected but increasingly at odds, ended up in a standoff that shows no signs of resolving almost a decade later.
Told through first-hand accounts, Clash of the Superpowers follows the decisions, conversations and moments that have shaped the relationship between America and China — and where it could be heading next.
Four Corners on ABC and ABC iview – Monday 4 May at 8.30pm
Media Release – ABC
TV Central ABC content HERE
Four Corners on ABC and ABC iview S65E13 America v China
