China has started a pair of investigations into US trade practices, retaliating against similar probes by US President Donald Trump’s administration as the superpowers stake out positions before an expected presidential summit in May.
The move, announced by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Friday, is a direct mirror of steps Trump took to revive his tariff agenda after the US Supreme Court last month struck down some of his duties.
“China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to these actions,” a ministry spokesperson said in a statement, referring to the so-called Section 301 investigations initiated on March 11.
Photo: Reuters
The Chinese measures come days after the White House said Trump would travel to China in mid-May to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for a summit delayed by the US conflict with Iran. The world’s two biggest economies have largely stabilized ties after a tariff tit-for-tat last year, although Beijing has signaled its opposition to fresh US actions.
“We know that these are merely symbolic investigations initiated by China, which is in fact the world’s most profligate disrupter of supply chains and trade in green products. No one is fooled,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement. “Despite this posturing, the US objective continues to be economic stability and balanced trade with China, in line with the US-China deal reached last year in Busan, [South] Korea.”
The attacks on Iran, a partner of China, also brought new strains to US-China ties, although both governments have sought to continue on a path of engagement. Relations are also dogged by lingering issues including China’s record trade surplus and US arms sales to Taiwan.
Beijing has not yet confirmed Trump’s visit to China.
Each of the new investigations carries a six-month deadline, with a possible three-month extension, giving Beijing a legal justification for future countermeasures and leverage ahead of any talks.
One such probe, brought separately against Mexico in September last year, concluded on Monday. Beijing found the country’s tariffs on Chinese goods to be trade barriers and vowed to take measures to defend the interests of China’s firms, without specifying.
An investigation announced on Friday targets US practices that Beijing said disrupt global supply chains, covering restrictions on Chinese goods entering US markets, export controls on advanced technology and limits on bilateral investment in critical sectors.
The other action focuses specifically on what China described as US barriers to trade in green products, including restrictions on exports of Chinese renewable goods to the US and limits on cooperation in green technology.
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