China welcomes ‘actions that avoid US trade war dispute escalation’ ahead of Trump-Xi G20 meeting
- Chinese President Xi Jinping and US counterpart Donald Trump are set to meet in Osaka, Japan on Saturday, with reports that details of a truce are being drafted
- China Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng says Beijing opposes unilateral levying of additional tariffs
China’s welcomes “actions that are helpful for managing differences and avoiding trade dispute escalation”, according to the Ministry of Commerce spokesman, in response to a South China Morning Post report that a truce in the trade war with the United States has been agreed ahead of this weekend’s G20 summit meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Japan.
Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng said that China has always opposed bullying by unilaterally imposing tariffs, adding that detailed information will be released later when he was asked whether China and the US will reach a trade truce.
Gao, speaking in Beijing on Thursday at the regular ministry press conference, also said that China hopes that the US will “immediately” lift its sanctions on companies including Huawei after the Trump administration blocked US companies from supplying the Chinese technology firm and some of its peers.
Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao said the sanctions not only impede legitimate interests of Chinese companies, but also interrupt normal technology and trade exchanges between the two countries as they “threaten the security of global value chain and supply chain … and can do good to no one.”
President Xi arrived Osaka in Thursday afternoon ahead of his planned meeting with Trump on Saturday on the last day of the summit.
Trump, having already increased tariffs on US$250 million worth of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, has threatened to impose tariffs on the additional imports, which would extend punitive tariffs to virtually all China’s shipments to the US.
One source, with knowledge of the plans, said Trump’s decision to delay additional tariffs was in response to Xi agreeing to meet in Osaka, after the pair last met in December in Argentina when they agreed a similar truce.
“The reality, though, is president Trump could always have a change of heart,” the source said. “But the truce cake seems to have been baked.”
Separately, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that China will remain firm in defending its rights.
Geng also said that Washington should listen to voices from American groups and people who oppose the additional tariffs, as well as from the international community about opposing protectionism and trade bullying.
