Talk that U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports could increase further amount to “blackmail” from the Trump administration that will prompt retaliatory measures from Beijing, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said Wednesday.
“U.S. pressure and blackmail won’t have an effect. If the United States takes further escalatory steps, China will inevitably take countermeasures and we will resolutely protect our legitimate rights,” Geng Shuang, the spokesman, told reporters at a briefing Wednesday, according to Reuters.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the Trump administration is considering increasing a planned 10 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 percent, part of a larger administration push to reset the trade relationship between Washington and Beijing onto terms President Donald Trump says will be fairer to the U.S.
Trump has long complained that his nation is the victim of unfair trade practices by China, which he has accused of intellectual property theft, currency manipulation and forced technology transfers. He has pledged to reduce the significant trade deficit the U.S. runs with China annually and has promised to get tough with the Chinese government even as he claims to have a close relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Thus far, China has been unwilling to accede to Trump’s demands, matching his tariffs with retaliatory ones and insisting that it will not be bullied on the world economic stage. Geng, the spokesman, told reporters Wednesday that China had “always upheld using dialogue and consultations to handle trade frictions” but that negotiations must be predicated on “equality and respect as well as established rules and credibility.”
“Unilateral threats and pressure will only produce the opposite of the desired result,” he said.
Original Article
Source: politico.com
Author: LOUIS NELSON
“U.S. pressure and blackmail won’t have an effect. If the United States takes further escalatory steps, China will inevitably take countermeasures and we will resolutely protect our legitimate rights,” Geng Shuang, the spokesman, told reporters at a briefing Wednesday, according to Reuters.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the Trump administration is considering increasing a planned 10 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 percent, part of a larger administration push to reset the trade relationship between Washington and Beijing onto terms President Donald Trump says will be fairer to the U.S.
Trump has long complained that his nation is the victim of unfair trade practices by China, which he has accused of intellectual property theft, currency manipulation and forced technology transfers. He has pledged to reduce the significant trade deficit the U.S. runs with China annually and has promised to get tough with the Chinese government even as he claims to have a close relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Thus far, China has been unwilling to accede to Trump’s demands, matching his tariffs with retaliatory ones and insisting that it will not be bullied on the world economic stage. Geng, the spokesman, told reporters Wednesday that China had “always upheld using dialogue and consultations to handle trade frictions” but that negotiations must be predicated on “equality and respect as well as established rules and credibility.”
“Unilateral threats and pressure will only produce the opposite of the desired result,” he said.
Original Article
Source: politico.com
Author: LOUIS NELSON
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