China yesterday fired back in a spiraling trade dispute with US President Donald Trump by raising import duties on US$34 billion of US goods, including soybeans, electric cars and whiskey.
The Chinese government said it was responding in “equal scale” to Trump’s tariff hike on Chinese goods, amid a conflict over Beijing’s trade surplus and technology policy that companies worry could quickly escalate and chill global economic growth.
China “doesn’t want a trade war,” but has to “fight back strongly,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
Beijing is also scrapping agreements to narrow its multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the US, which would have seen China buy more US farm goods, natural gas and other products, it said.
The US and China have the world’s biggest trading relationship, but official ties have been increasingly strained over complaints that Beijing’s industrial development tactics contradict its free-trade pledges and hurt US companies.
Europe, Japan and other trading partners have raised similar complaints, but Trump has been unusually direct about challenging Beijing and threatening to disrupt such a large volume of exports.
“In this trade war, it’s the US who is playing the role of provocateur, while China plays defense,” the Chinese state-run Global Times said in an editorial. “China is a powerful guardian and has enough ammunition to defend existing trade rules and fairness.”
Beijing is from July 6 to impose an additional 25 percent tariff on 545 products from the US, including soybeans, electric cars, orange juice, whiskey, lobsters, salmon and cigars, the Chinese Ministry of Finance said.
Most are food and other farm goods, hitting Trump’s rural supporters hardest.
Beijing appeared to be trying to minimize the impact on its own economy by picking US products that can be replaced by imports from other suppliers, such as Brazil or Australia.
Chinese regulators also are considering a tariff hike on an additional 114 products, including medical equipment and energy products, the finance ministry said, adding that a decision would be announced later.
That mirrored the Trump administration’s announcement on Friday of a tariff hike on US$34 billion of Chinese goods, also due to take effect on July 6, and plans to consider widening it by an additional US$16 billion of other products.
China’s heavily regulated economy also gives the Chinese Communist Party additional options for retaliation, such as withholding approval for business activity.
Anti-trust regulators have reportedly delayed announcing a decision on US tech giant Qualcomm’s proposed acquisition of Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors in part due to the tariff conflict.
“China’s retaliation will remain calibrated and largely reciprocal, with [Chinese] President Xi Jinping [習近平] ready to counter any move by Trump,” Eurasia Group said in a report. “Beijing has a freer hand for informal retaliation, which will now start to increase.”
The American Chamber of Commerce had appealed to Washington to avoid a tariff hike, but said Trump’s threat has prompted Beijing to engage in more intensive negotiations than it had in years.
Trump is pressing Beijing to narrow its trade surplus with the US and roll back its plans for state-led development of Chinese global competitors in technology fields such as electric cars, renewable energy, artificial intelligence and biotechnology.
The US, Europe, Japan and other trading partners have complained that Beijing’s tactics include outright theft of foreign technology, subsidies and protection from competition for fledgling Chinese industries.
Businesspeople and economists have said Chinese leaders are less likely to compromise on technology, as they view plans for state-led development of companies capable of competing globally in fields such as electric cars, renewable energy and biotechnology as a route to prosperity and to restore China to its rightful role as a world leader.
“There isn’t one country who would give up their rights to advance technology and make industrial upgrades,” the Global Times editorial said.
Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中), Taiwan’s top trade negotiator, said the newly announced US tariffs target 1,102 Chinese goods under Section 301 of the US’ Trade Act of 1974, a smaller scope than previously planned by Washington.
Judging from the list, its impact on Taiwanese goods would be limited, but the government would continue to monitor the situation as it evolves, Deng said.
Additional reporting by CNA
CLOSURES: Several forest recreation areas have been closed as a precaution, while some ferry and flight services have been suspended or rescheduled A land warning for Tropical Storm Danas was issued last night at 8:30pm, as the storm’s outer bands began bringing heavy rain to southeastern regions, including Hualien and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 9:15pm, the storm was approximately 330km west-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, moving north-northeast at 10-20kph, the CWA reported. A sea warning had already been issued at 8:30am yesterday. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 83kph, with gusts of up to 108kph, according to the CWA. As of 9:30pm last night, Kaohsiung, Tainan,
Taiwan yesterday said it was looking forward to attending an upcoming memorial in Japan to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, a day after the Japanese city said it had retracted its previous decision to not invite Taiwan to the event. The case has been dealt with by Taiwan’s representative office in Fukuoka and the Nagasaki City Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The ministry would decide who to send to the Aug. 9 event once it receives the invitation, it added. The ministry made the remarks following a Japanese media report on Saturday that said Nagasaki Mayor
POWERFUL DETERRENT: Precision fire and dispersed deployment of units would allow Taiwanese artillery to inflict heavy casualties in an invasion, a researcher said The nation’s military has boosted its self-defense capability with the establishment of a new company equipped with the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The company, part of the army’s 58th Artillery Command, is Taiwan’s first HIMARS unit. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who presided over the formation ceremony in Taichung on Friday, called the unit a significant addition to the nation’s defensive strength, saying it would help deter adversaries from starting a war. The unit is made up of top-performing soldiers who received training in the US, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The HIMARS can be equipped with
UNILATERAL: The move from China’s aviation authority comes despite a previous 2015 agreement that any changes to flight paths would be done by consensus The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday slammed Beijing for arbitrarily opening the M503 flight route’s W121 connecting path, saying that such unilateral conduct disrespected the consensus between both sides and could destabilize the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. The condemnation came after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) earlier yesterday announced it “has activated the W121 connecting path of the M503 flight route,” meaning that west-to-east flights are now permitted along the path. The newly activated west-to-east route is intended to “alleviate the pressure caused by the increase of flights,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
RSS