Trump 2.0 could go 'nuclear' on China trade, while economists say Harris would remain tough

• Taking on trade with China was a major priority of Trump's first term and he appears ready to double down if elected to a second term.
• If he wins the White House in November, Trump is expected to ramp up the trade war and accelerate a trend of decoupling.
• Meanwhile Kamala Harris would be expected to continue the Biden administration's multilateral, more targeted approach to trade policy.

Former President Donald Trump would likely take his trade war and economic decoupling policies to new levels if he were elected to a second term in the White House, experts told CNBC.

While Joe Biden also placed strategic competition with China at the forefront of his economic policy, economists and trade experts largely expect Trump would further cut and destabilize trade relations between the world's two largest economies.

"A Trump victory is highly likely to increase trade and economic hostilities between the U.S. and China, ramping up the trade and financial decoupling between the two countries," said Eswar Prasad, an economics professor at Cornell University.

Trump is widely expected to face incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden bowed out of the race and endorsed her. According to Prasad and other experts, Harris' approach to China would likely be similar to that of Biden.

While Trump and Biden both took a protectionist stance, their strategies and tactics differed greatly, explained Prasad, who previously served as head of the International Monetary Fund's China and financial studies divisions.

"Trump relied on tariffs to keep out imports from China. Biden — while keeping those tariffs in place and even increasing tariffs on certain imports — has focused more on restricting China's access to technology transfers and