Many Chinese companies ‘will go bankrupt’, if US delivers on tariff threats, court newspaper warns
Judiciary must ready itself for possible fallout from China-US trade row, mouthpiece of Beijing’s top court says
China’s judiciary should prepare itself for a possible spike in the number of corporate bankruptcy cases as a result of the trade dispute between Beijing and Washington, state media warned.
In an opinion piece published on Wednesday by People’s Court Daily, Du Wanhua, deputy director of an advisory committee to the Supreme People’s Court, said that courts needed to be aware of the potential harm the tariff row could cause.
“It’s hard to predict how this trade war will develop and to what extent,” he said. “But one thing is sure: if the US imposes tariffs on Chinese imports following an order of US$60 billion, US$200 billion, or even US$500 billion, many Chinese companies will go bankrupt.”
As Chinese courts have yet to have any involvement in the trade dispute, the fact that the newspaper of the nation’s top court, ran an opinion piece – for a judiciary-only readership – suggests concerns might be rising in Beijing about the possible socioeconomic implications of the row.
Du said the judiciary should also quickly familiarise itself with the possible complexities of such cases, which are probably unlike those they have handled in the past.