China is beating the US in the trade war as the yuan makes international gains, Bridgewater's Ray Dalio says

• Ray Dalio said China is winning the trade war with the US as the yuan makes gains internationally.
• The Bridgewater Associates co-chief investment officer also warned the US is on the "brink" of conflict with China.

China is pulling ahead in the trade war with the US, according to Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio.

In a Dubai conference on Wednesday, he said China's yuan is being used more widely in global trade and that players who can tap both the US and Chinese markets will emerge victorious in the trade war.

"China's winning the trade war if you just take the numbers – the percentage of world trade and dominance," Dalio said, according to Bloomberg.

The US-China trade war that began during the Trump administration hasn't abated under President Joe Biden.

His administration has been putting pressure on allies to join the US in limiting China's ability to access semiconductor technology to thwart Beijing.

Meanwhile, US-China political tensions have been heating up in recent days after the US spotted and then shot down a Chinese spy balloon that was flying over the US, including nuclear weapons facilities.

On Wednesday, Dalio, who is now CIO mentor at Bridgewater, reiterated his warning that the US and China appear to be nearing the "brink" of a full-scale conflict. He cautioned that his comments weren't a certainty, and added that "brink doesn't mean we'll go over the brink."

But the largest threat to the US remains at home, with Dalio citing "a deterioration of infrastructure, education, political conflict, leadership" as contributing to domestic issues.

"Basically, be strong. If you're strong and healthy, you'll be domestically and internationally well-off," he said.

Editor's note: this article has been updated to correct Dalio's title.