WASHINGTON - The US-initiated trade war is hurting the country's businesses and increasing the risk of a global recession, a former US senior official has warned.

The tariffs "are hurting US businesses, consumers, and farmers. They are alienating US allies. And, analysts warn, they are increasing the risk of a global recession," said Thomas Donilon, a former national security adviser in the Obama administration.

In a recent article posted on the website of Foreign Affairs, Donilon pointed out "The rivalry between the United States and China is here to stay," but he emphasized that the trade war employed by the US government is the wrong tools.

He said the flaw in the US strategy is that it has focused too much on China and almost not at all on the United States, said Donilon, who is also a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a US think tank.

"Defensive protectionism will not meet the China challenge; only domestic revival can do that."

Rather than slapping tariffs on Chinese goods, the United States should be investing in science, technology, education and infrastructure, and upgrading the country's infrastructure and preparing it for the era of high-speed rail, electric vehicles, and self-driving cars, he added.

"Future generations of Americans will judge today's leaders harshly for squandering this moment," he said.