China: Trade war has not made US ‘great again’
Beijing white paper says US consumers being hit
BEIJING Washington's escalating trade war with Beijing has not "made America great again" and has instead damaged the American economy, China said yesterday, 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 US and threats to economic growth.
"The trade war has not 'made America great again'," it said, referring to Mr Trump's political slogan during his 2016 presidential campaign.
The white paper's release came a day after China hit US$60 billion (S$82 billion) worth of US goods with new punitive tariffs ranging from five to 25 per cent, in retaliation for Washington raising duty on US$200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 per cent.
Mr 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.
Since Mr Trump fired the first shot, the two countries have exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on two-way trade worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
STALLED NEGOTIATIONS
While both sides have sought to find a resolution through several rounds of negotiations, they appear to have stalled.
American negotiators have alleged their Chinese counterparts reneged on previous commitments, but China said yesterday the US should bear "sole and entire responsibility" for the setback in negotiations, accusing Washington of repeatedly changing its demands.
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 yesterday. - AFP
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