IS CHINA SHUT DOWN? A strategy for smaller and medium sized manufacturers, ………..and their Sales Reps Just over three years ago, former President Trump started trade actions against China, as well as many other countries, as part of his economic plan to revive American manufacturing. Initially, some punishing tariffs were introduced against most foreign suppliers in the categories of steel and aluminum products. Then China was targeted for many more product groups in stages in an attempt to coerce the Chinese government to come to the discussion table on a number of trade issues. Each one merely served to increase the resolve of the Xi Ping government to stand firm and not capitulate to the pressure. China did suffer a bad year of economic growth in 2019 as a result of Covid-19 and the downturn in the economies of its trading partners. However, by being the first to take strong actions to control the spread of Covid-19, they were in a better position to rev up their economy