China is well prepared to handle any negative effects from its trade dispute with the US, China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday last week, adding that Beijing’s tariff hikes on US imports will not have a big impact overall on its domestic industries.
It would be a miscalculation by the US if its intention is to contain China’s rise, ministry spokesman Gao Feng said at a regular media briefing in Beijing.
“If the US attempts to use protectionist trade policies to contain China’s development and force China to make concessions even at the costs of companies’ interests, it has taken a miscalculated step,” Gao said.
Photo: Reuters
照片：路透
In the latest escalations in the widening trade row, the US said last week it had banned American companies from selling parts to Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE for seven years, while China last Tuesday announced hefty anti-dumping tariffs on imports of US sorghum and measures on synthetic rubber imports from the US, EU and Singapore on Thursday.
Responding to a Reuters question, Gao said Beijing hopes Washington will not underestimate China’s resolve to fight back.
“We will relentlessly fight back,” he said, adding that China will take any necessary measures at any time in response to the US move against ZTE.
Most analysts believe the two sides will eventually reach a compromise and avoid a full-blown trade war. But so far, China and the US have held no formal trade talks, Gao said.
A full-scale trade war between the two economic superpowers would hurt both Chinese and US exports and have a negative impact on growth in the two countries, as well as probably lead to collateral damage for other countries.
The global economy will expand this year at its fastest pace since 2010, but trade protectionism could quickly slow it down, the latest Reuters polls of over 500 economists worldwide suggest.
(REUTERS)
中國商務部上週四表示，因應與美國的貿易爭端所可能造成的任何負面影響，中國已有周全準備；並補充說，北京提高美國進口貨物關稅的措施，對其國內產業整體並不會有重大影響。
中國商務部發言人高峰在北京舉行的例行媒體簡報會上表示，如果美國的目的是要遏制中國崛起，美國就打錯算盤了。
「如果美國試圖用貿易保護主義政策來遏制中國的發展、迫使中國作出讓步，甚至不惜犧牲企業的利益，那麼美國已錯估了情勢」，高峰說。
美中貿易爭端不斷擴大，使情況加劇的最新發展是美國上週宣布，已禁止美國公司在未來七年出售零件給中國電信設備製造商中興通訊；中國方面則是於上週二宣布對進口美國高粱課徵高額的反傾銷關稅，並於週四宣布對美國、歐盟和新加坡限制合成橡膠的進口。
高峰在回答路透通訊社的問題時表示，北京希望華盛頓方面不要低估中國反擊的決心。
「我們會毫不留情地反擊」，他補充說，中國將隨時採取必要手段來回應美國對中興通訊的決定。
高峰表示，多數分析師認為中美雙方最終將達成妥協、避免全面的貿易戰。但是迄今為止，中美兩國都沒有舉行過正式的貿易談判。
中國和美國這全球兩大經濟強權間的全面貿易戰，不但會傷害兩國的出口、對兩國的經濟成長造成負面的影響，還可能會波及其他國家，造成附帶損害。
全球經濟今年的成長速度會是二○一○年以來最快的，但路透對全球五百多位經濟學家的最新意見調查顯示，貿易保護主義可能會使經濟成長速度變慢。
（台北時報林俐凱譯）
Vocabulary Extension
Protectionism is an economic policy of restricting imports from foreign countries by imposing tariffs, duties, import quotas or regulations, or providing subsidies, in order to protect domestic companies from foreign competition. Critics of protectionism argue the policy ultimately pushes up prices for domestic consumers and slows economic growth.
Dumping involves a company flooding a foreign market with a product sold at a price below “fair market value” and lower than it charges consumers within its home market.
Anti-dumping tariffs, or anti-dumping duties, are a form of protectionism. Fixed fees are imposed by a government on a foreign imported product to make it more expensive — and therefore less attractive — to domestic consumers, with the aim of protecting local businesses and jobs.
Collateral damage means indirect damage or loss inflicted on an entity other than the intented target of the action. In addition to referring to economic losses during a trade war, the phrase is often used during a real war situation as a euphemism to describe the unintentional death and injury of innocent civilians or damage to civilian property, as a result of military actions directed against enemy forces.
(Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
Every few years, the World Baseball Classic (WBC) offers sports fans a real World Series. At its finest, as in the shocking upset on Tuesday last week of the US team by Italy, the games generate the kind of electricity fans feel at the FIFA World Cup. That’s exactly how Major League Baseball (MLB), which owns the WBC, wants it. The tournament, first played in 2006, was designed to boost the league’s profile beyond North America and help it become a global game. In most respects, it’s done better than expected. Yet as the WBC grows, the structure, timing and staging of
Jane Goodall, the pioneering scientist whose groundbreaking research changed our understanding of chimpanzees and reshaped the study of animal behavior, has died at the age of 91. The Jane Goodall Institute confirmed that she passed away from natural causes in California in October 2025 while on a speaking tour. Born in England, Goodall gained international fame in the 1960s after traveling to Tanzania to study wild chimpanzees under the guidance of anthropologist Louis Leakey. At the time, she had no formal scientific training, yet she lived among the animals and recorded their behavior in remarkable detail. Her discovery that
Dos & Don’ts — 想想看，這句話英語該怎麼說？ 1. 她德語說得和她老師一樣流利。 ˇ Her German is as fluent as her teacher’s. ˇ She speaks German as fluently as her teacher (does). χ Her German is as fluent as her teacher. 註︰這裏所比的是「她的德語」和「她老師的德語」，而不是把她的德語和她的老師這個人相比，所以必須說 her teacher’s，即 her teacher’s German。或把「她說德語」和「她老師說德語」比較。 2. 一般認為北部人生活步調和南部人不同。 ˇ The people of the North are generally described as different from those of the South in terms of pace of life. χ The people of the North are generally described as different from the South in terms of pace of life. 註︰所不同者是北部人和南部人，而不是北部人和南部地區的比較，所以應加 those of，those 代替 the people，以免重複。 3. 他的新小說和上一本風格不同。 ˇ The style of his new novel is different from that of his last one. ˇ His new
對話 Dialogue 清清：華華，別忘了這禮拜五晚上，老闆請喝春酒喔！ Qīngqing: Huáhua, bié wàngle zhè lǐbàiwǔ wǎnshàng, lǎobǎn qǐng hē chūnjiǔ o! 華華：啊！我差點忘了，謝謝提醒。 Huáhua: À! Wǒ chàdiǎn wàngle, xièxie tíxǐng. 清清：老闆人真好，過年前請我們吃尾牙，過完年又請吃春酒。 Qīngqing: Lǎobǎn rén zhēn hǎo, guònián qián qǐng wǒmen chī Wěiyá, guòwán nián yòu qǐng chī chūnjiǔ. 華華：尾牙是感謝我們過去一年的辛勞，春酒是希望我們今年繼續努力啊！ Huáhua: Wěiyá shì gǎnxiè wǒmen guòqù yì nián de xīnláo, chūnjiǔ shì xīwàng wǒmen jīnnián jìxù nǔlì a! 清清：給我加薪，我就努力。 Qīngqing: Gěi wǒ jiāxīn, wǒ jiù nǔlì. 華華：還真是「有錢能使鬼推磨」。 Huáhua: Hái zhēn shì “Yǒu qián néng shǐ guǐ tuī mò.” 清清：那還用說。對了！別只顧著吃，頭牙快到了，農曆二月二是土地公生日，記得跟我去拜拜。 Qīngqing: Nà hái yòng shuō. Duìle! Bié zhǐ gùzhe chī, Tóuyá kuài dàole, nónglì èr yuè èr shì Tǔdìgōng shēngrì, jìdé gēn wǒ qù bàibai. 華華：沒問題，東西我來準備，放心吧！一起發大財！ Huáhua: Méi wèntí, dōngxi wǒ lái zhǔnbèi, fàngxīn ba!
RSS