“The antibiotic cited by Beijing has been banned in U.S. chicken production for decades,” Super added, referencing the drug furacilin, which is banned in the U.S. but China says it found repeatedly in shipments from Mountaire Farms.

In response to why Beijing is not backing down to Donald Trump on tariffs, the answer is that it doesn't have to. China's leaders would say that they are not inclined to cave in to a bully – something its government has repeatedly labelled the Trump administration as – but it also has a capacity to do this way beyond any other country on Earth.