What was supposed to be a historic, era-defining trade war launched by US President Donald Trump against a range of countries has, for now, narrowed in on a singular target: China.

Trump announced a three-month pause Wednesday on all the “reciprocal” tariffs that had gone into effect hours earlier – with one exception, deepening a confrontation set to dismantle trade between the world’s two largest economies. Then on Thursday, Beijing made good on its vow to bring in its own retaliatory tariffs.