I had given this some thought. Maybe the biggest bargaining chip that Trump has with China is the possible fact that this could be their silver. The pushback we've heard a lot about is how China is seriously thinking about restricting the trading of rare earth metals with the U.S. Perhaps a trade arrangement, or lack thereof, has something to do with it.

Also, China may well know they'd never get delivery of that silver - but they're using their ability to influence the silver price as another lever to put pressure on the U.S.??? IDK. But, there are some very serious silver experts who believe China is J.P.Morgans' biggest silver client.