And far from overtaking the United States, Japan was about to fall far behind. JUST WATCHED Trump calls trade war with China 'a little squabble' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Trump calls trade war with China 'a little squabble' 01:25Trade warAfter President Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, the United States started pressuring Japan to open its market up to American companies and reduce the trade imbalance between the countries. One of his key advisers on trade, Robert Lighthizer , also took part in Japan negotiations in the 1980s. Yet while Lighthizer and Trump may take positive lessons from the 1980s trade war, Beijing is also paying attention — and China's leaders have no intention of copying Japan's mistakes. This has been a common theme in state media coverage of the trade war -- that the US is seeking to blame Beijing for matters outside its control.

Source: CNN May 25, 2019 00:00 UTC