Page 9 - ARUBA TODAY

A9
WORLD NEWS Monday 3 June 2019

China blames U.S. for trade dispute, but doesn’t escalate

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN rich supply of rare earths as
Associated Press leverage in the conflict has
BEIJING (AP) — China fired contributed to sharp losses
back at the U.S. Sunday in U.S. stocks and sliding
over the two nations’ trade long-term bond yields.
dispute, issuing a report “If some countries use
that blamed the conflict on China’s rare earth metals
the Trump administration to produce products to
but refrained from escalat- contain China’s develop-
ing the trade war. ment, this is unacceptable
The report from the Cabi- by standards of both minds
net spokesman’s office said and hearts,” Wang said.
China won’t back down on Sunday’s report lays out
“major issues of principle,” China’s argument for blam-
but offered no sense of ing Washington for the fric-
whether or how the world’s tions as well as the costs to
second largest economy both sides, and said China
might retaliate against U.S. has room for fiscal policy
tariffs on goods manufac- changes to maintain the
tured in China. health of its economy amid
The report said China has the dispute.
kept its word throughout Wang said China had been
11 rounds of talks and will forced to “take forceful
honor its commitments Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen speaks during a press conference about measures in response” to
if a trade agreement is China-U.S. Trade issues at the State Council Information Office in Beijing, Sunday, June 2, 2019. U.S. actions and denied
reached. It accused the Associated Press China had backtracked on
U.S. of backtracking three the righteousness of the transfers. The Trump ad- but that it was aimed at its earlier commitments.
times over the course of the government’s stance. ministration has imposed enterprises that “violated He said the U.S. had made
talks by introducing new Linda Lim, a professor at 25% tariffs on $250 billion market principles” and cut unacceptable demands,
tariffs and other conditions Ross School of Business at in Chinese imports and is supplies of components to including on tariffs and
beyond what was agreed the University of Michigan, planning to tax the $300 Chinese businesses for non- compulsory requirements
on. said the report does not billion in imports that have commercial reasons. that infringed on Chinese
“But the more the U.S. gov- represent an escalation on so far been spared. It also China’s statement that it sovereignty. “You give
ernment is offered, the China’s part, but rather re- escalated the stakes this intends to publish such a them an inch, they take a
more it wants,” it said, ac- iterates the government’s month by putting Chinese list follows additional mea- yard,” he said.
cusing America’s negotia- position in a clear and telecom giant Huawei on sures last week that deep- However, Wang ques-
tors of “resorting to intimi- measured way that leaves a blacklist that effectively ened the bite of U.S. sanc- tioned how much China
dation and coercion.” the door open for negotia- bars U.S. companies from tions imposed on Huawei in was actually benefiting
“A country’s sovereignty tions. supplying it with computer mid-May. from its surplus, saying a joint
and dignity must be re- “They threw the ball back chips, software and other Several leading U.S.-based Chinese-U.S. study showed
spected, and any agree- into the U.S. court,” she components without gov- global technology stan- the U.S. figure could be in-
ment reached by the two said. ernment approval. dards-setting groups an- flated by as much as 20%.
sides must be based on She said the report is a pub- Beijing responded by im- nounced restrictions on The U.S. deficit with China
equality and mutual ben- lic relations win for China’s posing tariffs on $60 bil- Huawei’s participation in has actually been worsen-
efit,” the report said. government at a time lion worth of U.S. products, their activities under U.S. ing since tariffs were first
The report, delivered at a when U.S. President Donald which went into effect Commerce Department imposed, Wang said, point-
Sunday morning news con- Trump’s trade policy is an- Saturday. It also retaliated rules that bar the sale and ing to a 50% decline in soy
ference, appears to be a tagonizing other U.S. trad- against the U.S. blacklisting transfer of U.S. technology bean exports to China and
bid to shore up China’s ar- ing partners, most recently of Huawei by announcing to Huawei without govern- a drop-off in U.S. auto sales
guments and justify its po- Mexico. Friday that it will establish its ment approval. in the country. The average
sition in the face of what Trump announced last own list of “unreliable enti- Wang also repeated sug- U.S. family, meanwhile, will
looks to be a protracted week that he would impose ties” consisting of foreign gestions that China could pay an additional $831 for
dispute. 5% tariffs on Mexican im- businesses, corporations restrict the export of exot- consumer items over the
Over recent days, China ports starting June 10 if the and individuals. ic minerals known as rare year due to the higher tar-
has been mobilizing its rep- Mexicans don’t do more to Wang Shouwen, China’s earths that are widely used iffs, he said, while the dis-
resentatives abroad to sell stop the surge of Central vice commerce minister in electric cars and cell- pute’s impact on business-
its position with foreign au- American migrants across and deputy international phones. Foremost among es could end up costing
diences, while the domes- the southern U.S. border. trade representative, said them is lithium, the main 2.23 million U.S. jobs overall.
tic propaganda apparatus The U.S. has accused Chi- China would issue more component in modern bat- “That shows that the deep-
has been working overtime na of stealing trade secrets detailed information on the teries. ening trade restrictions hurt
to convince the public of and forced technology unreliable entities list soon, The threat to use China’s U.S. workers,” Wang said. q