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China says trade war ‘has not made America great again’
BEIJING, June 3, 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, warning 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 trade war has not ‘made America great again’,” it said, referring to
Trump’s political slogan made famous during his 2016 presidential campaign.
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.
Trump launched the trade war last year in a bid to reduce the US trade
deficit with China and force Beijing to undertake economic reforms, accusing
it of seeking to dominate global industries with unfair state subsidies and
of acquiring American technology through theft or forced transfers.
Since Trump fired the first shot, the two countries have exchanged tit-
for-tat tariffs on two-way trade worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
The resulting conflict has gutted US farm exports to China, and weighed on
the manufacturing sectors in both countries.
While both sides have sought to find a resolution through several rounds
of negotiations, they appear to have stalled after the latest meetings ended
without a deal.
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American negotiators have alleged their Chinese counterparts reneged on
previous commitments, but China said Sunday the US should bear “sole and
entire responsibility” for the setback in negotiations, accusing Washington
of repeatedly changing its demands.
– Beyond tariffs –
Despite the tensions, China has reiterated that it wants to resolve trade
issues through talks.
“On the trade friction started by the US: if the US wants to talk, we will
keep the door open. If they want to fight, we are ready,” Chinese defence
minister General Wei Fenghe told an international security dialogue in
Singapore on Sunday.
And the white paper said: “China does not want a trade war, but it is not
afraid of one and will fight one if necessary.”
With trade talks stalled, the dispute appears to be spreading beyond
tariffs.
Beijing has said it will unveil its own list of “unreliable entities”,
apparently in response to the US blacklisting of Huawei over national
security concerns, specifically over possible links to China’s military.
The company has dismissed such fears, and Wei echoed that on Sunday.
“Do not think that because the head of Huawei used to serve in the
military, then the company that he built is part of the military,” he said.
China’s deputy commerce minister Wang Shouwen said Sunday that Beijing’s
list will target companies that “violate market principles”, cut supplies to
or block Chinese enterprises, and “whose actions affect China’s national
security”.
He did not say when the list will be published or what kind of penalties
will be imposed on such firms.
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 said he had no information when asked about the meeting at a
press conference on Sunday.
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