Celebrated Chinese state banker warned Beijing against trade war
- Former state bank president warned against a tit-for-tat trade war with the US
- Li Ruogu also criticised China’s state-owned media for distorting the effects of the trade war
The former head of a Chinese policy bank pleaded for China not to engage in a tit-for-tat trade war with the United States, a newly-published speech from last September shows.
The speech by Li Ruogu, the former president of the Export and Import Bank of China (China Exim), a giant state-owned lender that gives loans to foreign companies to purchase Chinese goods or services, sheds new light on the internal struggle in Beijing over how to manage the trade dispute with Washington.
“When the weak side is fighting a war against the strong side, the weak side must know how to make a retreat. It will not work if the weak side only knows how to fight head-to-head,” said Li in an internal debate on September 27.
“Therefore, I suggest that we must pick our battles. A concession is not a surrender, it is intended to win the advantages [down the road]. I don’t think a tit-for-tat approach is workable in the US-China trade dispute,” Li said.
The speech also offers clues on why the Chinese leadership has shifted to a more conciliatory approach in recent months.
