Donald Trump’s new tariff threats not expected to derail China trade deal, but Beijing may want to play for time

US president conflates trade with coronavirus pandemic as he urges China to stick to its spending commitments

International trade expert says Beijing should delay or adjust its commitment to the phase one trade deal because of global economic decline

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US President Donald Trump says tariffs could be a punishment against China for what he says is a mishandling of the new coronavirus outbreak. Photo: TNS

Published: 11:00pm, 4 May 2020Updated: 11:28pm, 4 May 2020

China will not cancel its phase one trade deal with the United States despite fresh tariff threats by US President Donald Trump, analysts say, but it may seek to postpone its commitments amid the global economic slowdown.

Trump linked US-China trade war politics to accusations that China had covered up and mismanaged the outbreak of Covid-19, which has grown into a global pandemic, in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.

Trump said new tariffs on Chinese goods would be the “ultimate punishment” for its mishandling of the disease.

“Personally, I think [China] made a horrible mistake,” Trump said. “They tried to cover it up. It’s really like [they were] trying to put out a fire. They couldn't put out the fire.”

Trump said he would end the phase one deal if China did not buy enough US goods. Under the terms of the deal signed in January, China agreed to buy US$200 billion of American agricultural goods and other products in 2020-21.