Exclusive | Trade war: China using talks to prevent relations with US spinning out of control, former minister says
- China using trade talks to keep relations with US from spinning out of control amid an increasingly hostile bilateral atmosphere, says Chen Deming
- But Beijing still strongly opposes US legislation on Hong Kong and Xinjiang and will enact retaliatory measures, former Chinese Commerce Minister says
Beijing is using trade war negotiations to prevent bilateral relations with the United States from spinning out of control after Washington passed legislation targeting Xinjiang and Hong Kong, China’s former commerce minister has said.
Tensions over the recently passed bills stoked concern over the future of a “phase one” trade deal between the two countries, but Chen Deming, who headed China’s Ministry of Commerce from 2007 to 2013, said China was keeping the issues separate.
“[The bills] hurt the feelings of the Chinese people, which is certainly not helpful for trade talks,” said Chen in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post at an event hosted by the media company in New York this week.
“But fundamentally [trade and the bills] are two different issues. If we meld the two together, there won’t be trade talks any more.”
Fundamentally [trade and the bills] are two different issues. If we meld the two together, there won’t be trade talks any more
China will enact retaliatory countermeasures in response to the two US bills, but Beijing has no plan to call off trade talks or the prospects of a trade deal, Chen said.