Trade war of words breaks out at China conference as US congressmen call out Beijing
Two US congressmen use international economic forum in China to call out Beijing to take action to end trade dispute with US
A war of words broke out at the World Economic Forum conference in Tianjin, northeastern China, on Wednesday, when two US Republican congressmen called out China’s commitments to free and fair trade just minutes after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s keynote speech.
Darrell Issa, from California, and Todd Rokita, of Indiana, called on China to stop “stealing and cheating” and urged the government to take timely actions that would allow a ceasefire in the trade war with the United States.
Their ad hoc press conference on the sidelines of the forum was not on the official schedule and attendees received an email during Li’s speech to say it would occur less than 30 minutes after the premier’s address.
The two congressmen voiced strong support for the Trump administration’s trade confrontation with China.
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“Every action the US has done is measured and reasonable” and was based on “sound evidence”, Rokita said.