Trade war turns into blame game as China and US seek to shift global opinion

Beijing has changed its strategy after Donald Trump’s new tariff threat following lacklustre talks in Shanghai, according to observers

Both sides are trying to position themselves so they’re not seen ‘as the culprit that causes a global economic downturn’

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Beijing responded to the claim it had failed to buy American farm products with a list of purchases – including 130,000 tonnes of soybeans. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:00pm, 6 Aug 2019Updated: 4:11am, 7 Aug 2019

The US-China trade war has turned into a blame game, with each side accusing the other of backtracking – pushing talks to the brink of collapse.

According to observers, China’s strategy for dealing with the US has changed amid a new tariff threat from Washington after lacklustre talks in Shanghai, with Beijing losing hope in US President Donald Trump and seeking to steer global opinion in its favour.

Restarted negotiations in Shanghai last week ended with no major announcement, but China said they were “constructive” and that it would buy more US agricultural products based on its domestic demand. The two sides also agreed to have another face-to-face meeting in the United States next month.

But any hope of a fast resolution to the trade row faded after Trump said he would impose a 10 per cent tariff on US$300 billion worth of Chinese imports, because China had failed to buy American farm products.

Beijing gave a detailed response to Trump on Monday, with Cong Liang, secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission, calling such claims about agricultural products “unwarranted accusations”.