OpinionDo you know how reliant the U.S. is on China? Take this quiz.Here’s how the relationship has changed since Trump’s last visit to Beijing. and May 14, 2026 at 6:15 a.m. EDTMay 14, 2026The United States and China, the world’s largest economies, remain locked in a mutually dependent relationship as trading partners, economic competitors and adversaries.Each side has taken steps to lessen dependencies on the other. The U.S. calls it “decoupling,” “derisking” or, in the Trump administration’s preferred parlance, “rebalancing.”We created five charts to show how the relationship has changed — significantly in some areas and modestly in others. Can you guess how much the U.S. and China still need each other?TradeThe U.S. and China started imposing tariffs on each other in early 2018. President Joe Biden kept in place the tariffs President Donald Trump applied during his first term. When Trump returned to office, he launched a global trade war with China as the biggest target. Chinese President Xi Jinping responded by limiting exports of critical minerals, which prompted Trump to scale back his levies in exchange for a truce.Despite all that, the U.S. has kept exporting to China at a steady rate. What about China?Can you guess how China’s export volume to the U.S. has changed since 2018?Draw what you think happened after 2018 →201820092014201920240$200B$400B$600B$800BU.S. exports to ChinaU.S. exports to China$350B$350B$600B $600BDraw hereValue in 2024 USDSource: Source: U.N. ComtradeU.S. TreasurysAbout 31 percent of U.S. public debt, totaling $9.2 trillion, is financed by foreign investors in the form of owning Treasury securities. China has long been one of the largest holders. At the peak in 2013, investors from China owned more than $1.2 trillion of U.S. government debt. But Beijing has since tried to diversify.Can you guess the value of the U.S. Treasury securities China owns today?Draw what you think happened after 2018 →201820102015202020250$0.5T$1.0T$1.5TJapanJapanUKUK$0.5T$0.5T$1.1T $1.1TDraw hereTop three foreign holders of U.S. Treasury securities by December 2025 are shown.Source: U.S. TreasuryU.S. businessesChina remains a crucial market for many U.S. multinational companies, even as they look to build factories elsewhere, like India. That’s why several CEOs are accompanying Trump to Beijing this week. Geopolitical tensions and tariffs have significantly reduced the sales and revenue generated by U.S. firms in China. Still, about a quarter of Intel’s revenue and almost 10 percent of Nvidia’s came from China last year.Can you guess how Apple’s share of sales has changed in the greater China region in recent years?Draw what you think happened after 2020 →20202015202020250%10%20%30%Intel’s shareIntel’s shareNvidia’sNvidia’s25%25%14.7% 14.7%Draw hereThe Greater China region includes mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Sales are total net sales.Source: SECStudentsChinese perceptions of the U.S. have grown increasingly negative. Many now see the U.S. as a declining, but still dangerous, power. Chinese student enrollment in U.S. higher education peaked in 2019 and declined after the covid-19 pandemic began.How has the number of Chinese students attending U.S. institutions changed since the pandemic?Draw what you think happened after 2020 →202020092014201920240100k200k300k400k... from India... from IndiaJapanJapanSouth KoreaSouth Korea81k81k320k 320kDraw hereTop four source countries of U.S. international students in 2025 are shown.Source: OpendoorsTouristsThe number of short-term Chinese visitors to the U.S. peaked in 2015. About 3 in 10 short-term visitor visas went to Chinese nationals that year. That enthusiasm has died down amid mutual antagonism. The pandemic accelerated the decline of Chinese tourism to the U.S. Has the share of short-term visitors from China to the U.S. increased or decreased since the pandemic?Draw what you think happened after 2020 →202020092014201920240%10%20%30%40%9%9%12% 12%Draw hereShort-term visitors are measured by the number of B1/B2 visas issued annually and do not include all visitors to the U.S.Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security