While much of the mainstream media wring their collective hands over President Donald Trump “igniting a trade war” by raising new tariffs against $200 billion in Chinese goods, the reality is the U.S. has been in a long-running economic war with Beijing. The only difference is that Trump has decided to lead the U.S. on the offensive.

As Mark Alexander notes, “In the three-decades-old trade cold war with Red China, Donald Trump is the first president to exercise the political courage to fight back.” He notes further, “One BIG advantage they have is the relentless Leftmedia opposition to Trump. Thus, the Chinese are able to target tariff countermeasures to do the most political damage to Republicans with the support of the Demo/MSM.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) praised Trump’s actions, stating, “This is the first administration ever, in certainly modern history, that’s actually taken these guys on.” Even Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) agreed with the president, arguing, “We have to be strong with [China]. … We ought to hang tough.”

Predictably, China has responded in a tit-for-tat manner by raising tariffs on an additional $60 billion in various U.S. imports, effective June 1. In other words, it doesn’t look like either side will back down anytime soon. Even so, Beijing is feeling more of the immediate economic pressure — its economy continues to slow as various companies look to relocate their manufacturing outside of China.

Hopefully, Trump’s actions will press China into ending its abusive trade practices and in turn usher in a fair and balanced trade agreement between the world’s two largest economies.