BEIJING, June 2, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Washington’s escalating trade war with
Beijing has not “made America great again” and has instead damaged the
American economy, China said Sunday, stressing that while it wants resolution
through talks there will be no compromise on core principles.
Beijing’s broadside is the latest act in a bruising conflict between the
world’s top two economies that has spooked markets and sparked fears about
the global economy.
With trade talks stalled, the dispute has intensified in recent weeks with
US President Donald Trump imposing fresh tariffs on imports from China and
moving to blacklist Chinese tech titan Huawei over national security
concerns.
“The (US) tariff measures have not boosted American economic growth.
Instead, they have done serious harm to the US economy,” the Chinese
government said in a white paper, pointing to what it described as increased
production costs and consumer prices in the United States and threats to
economic growth.
The white paper’s release came a day after China hit $60 billion worth of
US goods with new punitive tariffs ranging from five to 25 percent, in
retaliation for Washington raising duty on $200 billion in Chinese goods to
25 percent.
Washington and Beijing resumed their trade battle last month when the
latest round of talks ended without a deal, with American negotiators
accusing their Chinese counterparts of reneging on previous commitments.
But China said the US should bear “sole and entire responsibility” for the
breakdown, accusing Washington of repeatedly changing its demands and of
making “reckless” allegations about Beijing’s conduct during the
negotiations.
The countries have exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on two-way trade worth
hundreds of billions of dollars since Trump fired the first round last year.
With talks stalled, the dispute appears to be spreading beyond tariffs.
Beijing said Friday it will unveil its own list of “unreliable entities”,
apparently in response to the US blacklisting of Huawei.
Chinese state media have also dangled the threat of cutting exports of rare
earths to the United States — a key resource used in the production of
everything from smartphones to military hardware.
There are hopes that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet at
the G20 summit this month to ease tensions and jumpstart trade negotiations.
But Wang Shouwen, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International
Trade Representative, said he had no information when asked about the meeting
at a press conference on Sunday.