Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (劉鶴) yesterday spoke by telephone with US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and “agreed to continue to communicate” on trade issues, Xinhua said.
The call came at a time of heightened tensions after US President Donald Trump on Thursday authorized tariffs on as much as US$60 billion of Chinese imports, targeting sectors in which Washington says Beijing has stolen US technology.
On the telephone, Liu accused a US investigation of violating international trade rules and told Mnuchin that Beijing was ready to defend its interests, Xinhua said.
“China is ready to defend its national interests and hopes that both sides will remain rational and work together to safeguard the overall stability of China-US economic and trade relations,” Xinhua cited Liu as saying.
China on Friday told the US that it was “not afraid of a trade war” as it threatened tariffs on US$3 billion worth of US goods in retaliation to Trump’s new measures.
It unveiled a hit list of products from fresh fruit to pork that could face duties of up to 25 percent, although it stopped short of pulling the trigger as it indicated its readiness to negotiate an agreement.
In August last year, the US formally launched a trade investigation into China’s intellectual property practices and the forced transfer of US technology under Section 301 of US trade law, which addresses intellectual property.
Meanwhile, former Chinese minster of finance Lou Jiwei (樓繼偉) said that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s response to the US trade measures is a bit too weak and should target US soybeans.
Lou, currently chairman of China’s National Council for Social Security Fund, was speaking yesterday at the annual China Development Forum in Beijing.
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