China called on the US to respect international trade rules and improve cooperation and dialogue in reaction to two new orders by US President Donald Trump calling for an investigation into trade abuses.
Any US trade enforcement measures should comply with generally accepted international trade rules and differences between the two countries should be handled properly, an unidentified spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a speech on Saturday.
“China is willing to cooperate with the United States on a basis of equality and mutual benefit,” the spokesperson said in the speech released on the ministry’s Web site.
Trump on Friday signed executive orders aimed at investigating possible abuses causing large US trade deficits and stopping import duty evasion.
He is to host Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) Thursday and Friday at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida, where trade is expected to be a central talking point as well as North Korea and China’s ambitions in the South China Sea.
Trump, who has taken a harsh stance on China’s trade practices, last week tweeted that the meeting “will be a very difficult one,” citing big trade deficits and US job losses.
China maintains that the China-US trade imbalance is mostly the result of differences between the economic structures and development stages of the two nations.
Meanwhile, German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Brigitte Zypries on Saturday said that Trump’s executive orders on trade deficits and import duty evasion are a sign that Washington plans to move away from free trade and international agreements.
Zypries said that while the executive orders were initially only reviews, “they show, however, that the US obviously wants to move away from free trade and trade agreements.”
“We must seek constructive dialogue and explain that the reasons for the US trade deficit are not just abroad,” the minister said, adding that she would raise the issue in talks with US counterparts during a trip to Washington next month.
For years, the US has been importing more goods from Germany than it exports to Europe’s biggest economy, due to the relatively strong competitiveness of German firms and the high demand among US customers for “Made in Germany” goods.
The resulting US trade deficit with Germany has nearly doubled in the past 10 years from about 28.8 billion euros (US$30.7 billion) in 2006 to 49 billion euros last year, according to data from Germany’s Federal Statistics Office.
On Friday, German Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel urged the EU to consider filing a complaint with the WTO against the US over its plan to impose duties on imports of steel plate from five EU member states.
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