China’s ambassador talks tough on trade, says US officials ‘don’t have sufficient common sense’
Cui Tiankai, usually soft-spoken, says Trump administration ‘should give up the illusion that China will ever give in to intimidation’
As a tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s top two economies prepares for a new round of tariffs, China’s ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, said that Beijing would not give in to intimidation and coercion from Washington.
In a speech on Thursday at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, Cui admitted that US-China relations were facing “a big problem” and said there was good reason to be worried about their increasing geopolitical competition and rivalry.
“Of course many people are worried about the impact the current situation would have on the future of our relations and where the China-US relationship is going,” he said.
“I wish to advise people to give up the illusion that another Plaza Accord could be imposed on China. They should give up the illusion that China will ever give in to intimidation, coercion or groundless accusation,” Cui added.