As tariff hike looms, China asks US to meet it halfway

A protracted trade war between the two economies will damage global growth

BEIJING: China appealed to the United States to meet it halfway to salvage a deal that could end their trade war, with its chief negotiator in Washington for two days of talks hoping to stave off US tariff hikes set to be triggered on Friday.

The two sides had appeared to be converging on a deal until last weekend, when US President Donald Trump announced his intention to raise tariffs with his negotiators saying that China was backtracking on earlier commitments.

“The US side has given many labels recently, ‘backtracking’, ‘betraying’ etc...China sets great store on trustworthiness and keeps its promises, and this has never changed,” Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said on Thursday.

Gao told reporters in Beijing that it was normal for both sides to have disagreements during the negotiating process. Trump told supporters at a rally in Florida on Wednesday that China “broke the deal”, and vowed not to back down on imposing new tariffs on Chinese imports unless Beijing “stops cheating our workers”.

A protracted trade war between the world’s two largest economies would damage global economic growth, and investors pulled their money out of stock markets this week amid fears of the prospective agreement unravelling. Gao said the decision to send the delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He to Washington despite the tariff threat demonstrated China’s “utmost sincerity”.

“We hope the US can meet China halfway, take care of each other’s concerns, and resolve existing problems through cooperation and consultations,” he said. Gao urged the United States to eschew unilateral action, while warning China was fully prepared to defend its interests.

“China’s attitude has been consistent and China will not succumb to any pressure. China has made preparations to respond to all kinds of possible outcomes.” He did not elaborate.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2019.

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