China ‘won’t get away with vague promises this time’ in trade talks with US
- Beijing will have to take action on some demands after Donald Trump added to pressure with more tariff threats ahead of G20 meeting, observers say
China will have to go further than making “vague promises” at this week’s summit with the United States after President Donald Trump turned up the heat in the trade war with more tariff threats, observers say.
Just days before he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 gathering in Argentina, Trump has again escalated the conflict, saying he would not step back from a plan to raise tariffs on goods from China.
He told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Monday it was “highly unlikely” his administration would delay or suspend a plan to increase duties on US$200 billion of Chinese products from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.
Trump also threatened to apply tariffs of 10 per cent or 25 per cent on the remaining US$267 billion of Chinese imports if the two sides failed to reach a deal during their meeting in Buenos Aires.
He added that the only acceptable deal would involve China opening up to competition from the US.
Responding to Trump’s comments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Tuesday said Beijing hoped to find a solution with Washington at the G20 summit, but maintained that China would defend its interests.
