China’s Wang Qishan vows to deepen ties with Russia, takes veiled swipe at US
Vice-president tells forum in St Petersburg there will be no winners from a trade war between China and America, and Beijing has to be ready
Wang Qishan vowed to deepen cooperation with Russia and made a veiled attack on US protectionism on Saturday during his first overseas trip since he became Chinese vice-president in March.
He told an economic forum in St Petersburg that China had been in frequent talks with the administration of US President Donald Trump, who has threatened to slap tariffs on numerous Chinese imports and wants to narrow the trade gap between the two countries.
The vice-president said there would be no winners if there was a trade war between the world’s two largest economies, but Beijing had to be ready for any turn of events.
“Putting just one country’s interests first will only get the opposite result,” Wang told the forum on Friday. “We must avoid a trade war because there won’t be any winners in such a war.”
Wang emphasised the importance of the China-Russia relationship, saying Beijing was willing to deepen strategic ties and forge a partnership with “mutual trust and support as well as common prosperity and friendship for generations”.