 "A man walks into a merchandise store displaying Chinese and United States' national flags, in Beijing. The effects of a possible US-China trade war will be felt across the world. AP")
China on Wednesday called for “equal” dialogue with the US over Trump’s tariff measures, a Beijing white paper shared by state news agency Xinhua said.
“China and the United States can resolve differences in economic and trade areas through equal-footed dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation,” the white paper said.
China—Washington’s top economic rival but also a major trading partner—will be hardest hit. Since Trump returned to the White House, tariffs have been imposed on its products. After Beijing refused to withdraw its reciprocal tariffs, Trump announced a whopping 104 per cent levy on the country on Wednesday midnight.
Calling trade relations between China and the US a “win-win” situation, the white paper, titled “China’s Position on Some Issues Concerning China-US Economic and Trade Relations,” said Beijing does not intentionally seek a trade surplus, and the trade imbalance in goods between China and the United States is both a natural outcome of structural challenges within the US economy and a result of the differing comparative advantages and global division of labor between the two nations.
China is trying to tariff-proof its economy by boosting consumption and investing in key industries, but analysts say it remains critically vulnerable to the economic storm triggered by Donald Trump’s 104 percent levies on its goods.
Beijing has vowed to “fight to the end” against Trump’s aggressive trade policy, with number two leader Li Qiang saying authorities were “fully confident” in the resilience of the Chinese economy.
Earlier, China also sought closer trade ties with India to mitigate the effects of US levies.
Chinese Embassy spokesperson Yu Jing said, “China-India economic and trade relationship is based on complimentarity and mutual benefit. Facing the U.S. abuse of tariffs, which deprives countries, especially Global South countries, of their right to development, the two largest developing countries should stand together to overcome the difficulties.”
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More ShortsWith inputs from agencies