'At least he has the guts…': Finfluencer says Trump’s chaos may be a calculated strike on China

Finfluencer and Wisdom Hatch founder Akshat Shrivastava believes there’s more to Donald Trump’s aggressive trade moves than meets the eye. “What Trump is doing right now looks like madness. And, it probably is,” he wrote on X. “But, there is a plan that Trump has put into motion. No one can guess the results. But, at least he has the guts to make hard calls.”

Shrivastava’s post offers a broader take on the evolving U.S.–China rivalry and the structural shifts behind Trump’s approach. According to him, China has long been poised as the “obvious successor” to the U.S. — built on a strategy of exporting quality goods at competitive prices.

“If you study China's model, it is very simple: export great stuff at cheap price,” he wrote. That approach spans everything from manufacturing and robotics to semiconductors. “The more they practiced, the better they got. The better they got, the less the US manufactured. With less manufacturing, the US became less competitive,” he explained. The result: growing global dependence on China — including from the U.S. itself.

For years, Shrivastava argues, both countries stayed in their lanes. The U.S. sourced low-end products from China while focusing on high-end innovation. But over the last decade, China has aimed higher, especially after facing internal pressures like the middle-income trap and a real estate crisis. “To truly compete against the US, it needs to compete on Tech. And, interestingly it has the muscle, know-how and clout to do it,” he said.

So where does Trump’s playbook fit in?

Shrivastava suggests it’s about rebuilding America’s industrial foundation — not just on advanced tech, but across the board. “The US’s game-plan is to build its own capabilities before it's too late. And go all in on both high and low end manufacturing (using Robotics),” he wrote.

He doubled down on his earlier point: “What Trump is doing right now looks like madness. And, it probably is. But, there is a plan that Trump has put into motion. No one can guess the results. But, at least he has the guts to make hard calls.”