What China critics in Maga movement make of Trump's Beijing trip

Trump’s softer approach towards China is one that experts say will likely trickle down to the wider MAGA base.

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"We can't continue to allow China to rape our country," he told a crowd in Fort Wayne. "We have the cards. Don't forget it."

The anti-China rhetoric didn't let up - through a decade of rallies, his 2024 campaign and into his second term.

Trump arrived back at the White House alongside key allies who made China-bashing a calling card: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice-President JD Vance and senior economic counsellor Peter Navarro - all united in accusing Beijing of "ripping off" America, stealing technology at an industrial scale and flooding US streets with fentanyl.

Tariffs soon followed, climbing from 10% in February 2025 to 145% by mid-April's "Liberation Day", as Trump called his launch of import taxes on China and scores of other US trade partners. China struck back, slapping the US with 125% tariffs and blocking rare earth exports. A trade war was under way.