Trade tensions between the United States and China are exposed at the Shanghai Expo

Politics gets in the way. Despite the objection of American groups of actors, President Trump has imposed tariffs on more than 200 billion dollars of Chinese goods, causing retaliation from Beijing that increase the price that the Chinese pay for US products, in particular foods ranging from pork to cheese. Trump urged US leaders to rethink how their activities could strengthen China as a rival and cost jobs in the United States.

Both countries benefit from the excellent one-week exposure for their propaganda value. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce praises the participation of more than 180 US exhibitors in endorsing Xi's vision. The Trump administration has publicly rejected China's invitation to join the exhibition. His RSVP, presented by a spokesman for the US Embassy, ​​said "China must end its unfair trade practices that are harming the global economy."

"US companies are in a difficult situation," said Craig Allen, chairman of the American Council of Chinese Affairs this week.

Until recently, about 98% of board members said they were profitable in China and most considered them to be their largest international growth market. "Every American company is affected in different ways by the tension, and none of them in the right way," Allen said, rushing between the meeting of Chinese officials and a call for courtesy.

Johnson & Johnson
of the

exhibition – a red brick dummy house featuring eye treatments and consumer items such as Listerine mouthwash.

Elsewhere, visitors posed for selfies at the mouth of a

General Electric
Co.

jet engine, the US Council for Exporting Dairy Products has delivered slices of cheese, the state of Wisconsin, a ginseng-infused bourbon show, as well as models of wastewater treatment equipment. In addition to the false grass, DowDuPont presented fireproof suits and a Kevlar motorcycle body.

Absent: the highest US leaders. While

Ford engine
Co.

Jim Hackett was present during President Xi's speech. Most of the largest US companies at the show said they would send lower executives.

General Motors
Co.

presented a Corvette C7.R and Ernst & Young presented a virtual reality technology, but their presidents, who were in Shanghai the previous week, left before the show began. Instead of visiting his company 's mock – up, Frederick W. Smith, president of FedEx Corp., has been in Singapore with 3M's Mike Roman.

Starbucks
Corp.

The CEO, Kevin Johnson, was in Shanghai at the beginning of the show, but he jumped it. Companies did not respond or declined to comment on these absences.

Business groups believe that leaders are reluctant to take sides in the fight against trade imbalances.

"We would like both governments to solve these problems together. Businesses will feel more reassured, "said DowDuPont spokeswoman Gloria Xu, although she downplayed the impact on companies, citing a deal signed this week that provides polyurethane to the Chinese manufacturer. Appliances Haier Group Corp.

The Trump administration says its tariffs are a response to Chinese practices that hinder American businesses – a perception that has persisted for years in US unions and is more prevalent in business. Beijing retorts that it remains a developing country and treats companies on an equal footing, although it can protect itself and protect itself by severe retaliation.

The Trump administration denounces the Beijing-led economy and its goals of technological supremacy. But it's also China's huge purchasing power that counts in technology. Based in Massachusetts

Thermo Fisher Scientific
Inc.

said that provincial and municipal leaders have visited his exhibits, which include drug testing equipment and a genetic analyzer meant to identify the perpetrator of violence in a notorious knife attack in China.

Responding to Mr. Trump's "America First" rhetoric, the Chinese president launched the expo stating, "The opening brings progress while the isolation is causing the delay."

The participation of US companies in the exhibition "fully demonstrates the attractiveness of the Chinese market," Wang Bingnan, deputy minister of commerce, told the press. The ministry, which organized the exhibition and also regulates foreign companies, asked journalists to cover contracts signed by US companies, including:

Honeywell International
Inc.

Thermo Fisher and DowDuPont.

Dozens of 130,000 Chinese buyers of Chinese companies and governments have expressed concern over the tension and confidence surrounding the quality of US products, from Dole Food Co. bananas to Louisiana's Metal Shark Boats. Scratching on the white hull of the boat, Lai Huasheng, president of marine coatings manufacturer Zhuhai Winner Anticorrosive Technology Corp., said he was trying to advance the technology of his own company.

"The competition in traditional industries is very tough and we have to look for a way out," he said.

Trade tensions have slowed investment in Shandong Province, according to Ding Wei, head of the 156-strong government delegation in Tengzhou. He added that Washington should allow more high-tech exports to China: "This would be a boon for Tengzhou, especially for its machine builders."

A quarter of the show is dedicated to food, illustrating how much money can be saved to feed 1.3 billion people in China – and how tariffs are hurting US farmers. Two gigantic halls are filled with Spanish ham, Thai ice, French wine and Japanese beer. Instead of buying cherries from Washington last summer, Bruce Liu said his Shanghai distributor, Well Fruit Ltd., had bought Canadian cherries to avoid tariffs. He is now looking to replace the 60 containers of oranges from Sunkist Growers Inc. he bought for the Lunar New Year last season.

At the modest US Dairy Export Council stand, Jaime Castaneda said that as long as governments do not reduce tensions, "our presence is the message".

-Chingying Zhang and Zhou Wei contributed to this article.

Write to James T. Areddy at [email protected]