Trade War

Newsletter 292 - Feb. 15, 2026

Welcome to the 292nd edition of Trade War.

First, an apology. I was unable to do the live video on Thursday at the usual time because of a sudden engagement. I will be back next Thursday 12 noon PT!

Now, on to the news ~

Chinese regulators tell banks to trim holdings of US Treasuries. China’s American assets have fallen by half over the past decade. And did Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s recent comments prompt Beijing’s order?

Trump pauses tech restrictions to win favor with China before his April visit. And soybean prices rise sharply on possibility of a U.S.-China tariff truce extension.

Sluggish CPI a sign of continuing weakness in the economy. Property slump this year will be worse than originally expected, says a new S&P report.

And China’s longterm ascent to economic supremacy could be derailed, I write in response to bullish growth predictions in the Atlantic Council Global Foresight 2036 survey.

Notable/In depth ~

• A look at how the UK’s Peter Mandelson and a German businessman tried to sell Epstein on China investments

• “Both countries have come to see interdependence primarily as a vulnerability,” write prominent US and Chinese scholars

• Book talk with author Mark L. Clifford and Evan Osnos: “The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire . . . and China’s Most Feared Critic”