How Donald Trump's $60 bn tariff on China will trigger trade war in Asia

China’s rampant economic growth has been a boon for exporters in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, who’ve supplied high-end components and machines for its factories. The risk for them now is that China changes from customer to competitor as it ascends the value chain.

Japanese shipments to China reached a record $130 billion in 2017, leading an export-driven economic recovery that’s run for eight-straight quarters. Korean sales to its neighbour have jumped 70 per cent in a decade, while shipments from Taiwan climbed to an all-time high.

Yet a deeper dive into the data highlights the threat. Take the trade