By Dr Kadir Temiz

Trump don bring back wahala for trade mata as im don start new fight wit China. Di US president don increase tariff for Chinese goods reach as high as 145 percent, say na because of unfair trade practice and national security wahala. Even though im talk say im go pause di tariff for other countries for 90 days, di Trump government still dey push di protectionist agenda.

Dem call di move part of wetin dem name 'Liberation Day' initiative, wey include 10 percent tariff for all imports. But China no waste time to reply, dem sef increase tariff for US goods reach 125 percent. Dis one don set di stage for another big trade fight between di two countries.

Di fight no be just about trade imbalance or tariff mata, e dey show di bigger struggle for power and control for di world. Di two countries dey try reposition demsef for di new world order wey dey full of uncertainty. Unlike before, di powers wey dey now dey more confident and dey push dia own agenda strong strong.

As di US and China dey push dia influence for political, economic, and cultural levels, di fight no go end anytime soon. Di wahala no just be about trade, e dey show di deeper fight for who go lead di world. Di tools wey dem dey use fit change anytime, from economy to politics or even military.

Di fight don even dey show for cultural and social levels as di two countries get different values and governance style. Wetin we dey see no be just policy disagreement but big geopolitical power play wey go affect di world for long time.

Di US dey face wahala for dia own side like political division and unstable elections. China sef get dia own problem like ageing population and economy wey dey slow down. Dis wahala dey make di two countries no fit completely cut off from each other but dem dey try separate for sensitive areas like semiconductors and data governance.

Di US dey try hold dia alliances for Europe and East Asia but di relationship no strong like before. China sef dey face wahala for dia region as neighbours no too trust dem. Di Global South—places like Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia—don become di new battleground for influence.

China dey try use projects like Belt and Road Initiative to gain influence for di Global South, but di reception no dey always positive. Di US sef dey try use security assistance and digital investment to counter China, but dia past intervention dey make some countries no trust dem.

Di fight between di US and China no get clear winner as both countries get strength but also get big wahala. Di world no fit completely separate because di connection between countries too strong. But di middle powers—countries wey dey in-between—fit play big role to balance di wahala.

Di way di Middle East dey try settle dia old fight fit be example of how oda regions go take manage dia own wahala. As di big powers dey fight, na di smaller countries go fit bring balance and help create new order wey no go depend on domination but on cooperation.

Di author, Dr. Kadir Temiz, na di President of ORSAM and e dey teach for Istanbul Medeniyet University. E dey focus on global power competition and Middle East geopolitics.

Disclaimer: Di views wey di author express no mean say na di same view TRT Afrika get.