Chinese President Xi Jinping maintains a good relationship with Trump, but Chinese media has called the US a trade bully
US President Donald Trump has warned of imposing tariffs on as much as $500 billion in Chinese exports if Beijing retaliates against his administration’s $34 billion levies which went into effect July 6.
While this would be a massive escalation of what is clearly becoming a trade war, it didn’t appear to faze China. On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said that Chinese tariffs on $34 billion worth of US products have indeed gone into effect.
These include soybeans (half of all US soybean production is exported to China), crude oil and auto parts, among nearly 600 other items.
It said the US had started the biggest trade war in economic history.
During his talk with journalists on his way to a Montana rally, Trump explained that while tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods goes into effect today, another $16 billion will be applied in two weeks.
“As you know we have 200 billion in abeyance and then after the 200 billion we have 300 billion in abeyance. OK? So we have 50 plus 200 plus almost 300,” he said, before adding that this only applied to China.
China, meanwhile, accuses the US of violating World Trade Organization guidelines, and while global trade and markets will suffer, it is also the American consumer and industry which will pay the price.
Chinese media have called the US a trade bully and said it is shooting itself in the foot.
Lu said that “the series of unilateral acts and trade and investment protectionism measures adopted by the US government have caused widespread concern around the world for some time”.
He predicted that the number of retaliatory measures even from US allies will grow in time.
Right now, the US is engaged in open trade conflict with Canada, Mexico, the European Union and Japan.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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