As the trade war between China and the United States continues to escalate, many gamers have noticed that recent developments bear a striking resemblance to the plot of the 2012 game Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
Donald Trump announced sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs last week with a 10 percent rate applied to most countries. Trump imposed his harshest tariffs on China to the tune of 84 percent. Chinese president Xi Jinping responded by placing export restrictions on rare earth elements.
According to Time, these materials are used to create weapons, computer chips, and electric cars. Since China produces around 90 percent of the world’s rare earths, these restrictions could be damaging for the U.S., especially since the purpose of tariffs is to promote domestic production.
While Trump paused tariffs for 90 days for nearly all countries amid a plummeting stock market and fears of a recession, he increased tariffs on China to 125 percent.
The simmering conflict between the two countries centered around China's decision to limit access to its rare earth elements may seem like a summary of what is currently happening, but it is the actual plot from Black Ops II. The more astounding aspect of the game is the campaign takes place in 2025.
See the X posts below and check out Complex's ranking of Every Main 'Call of Duty' Game, Ranked From Worst to Best.
