China urges ‘positive dialogue’ with US as Trump’s threatened tariffs loom large

Deputy commerce minister also warns of tariffs’ adverse effects on the country imposing them, while pointing to China’s economic ‘resilience’ in face of external shocks

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A container ship is seen in China’s Shandong province. Photo: Xinhua

Sylvia Main Hong KongandYuanyue Dangin Beijing

Published: 8:30pm, 22 Nov 2024

While pledging to “firmly safeguard” China’s interests, the nation’s chief international trade representative on Friday expressed Beijing’s willingness to engage in “positive dialogue” with Washington to bolster cooperation and manage differences.

The comments by vice-minister of commerce Wang Shouwen, who participated in trade talks with the United States over the past seven years, came as worries loom large of a trade-war resurgence between the world’s two largest economies, with president-elect Donald Trump gearing up for his second term after signalling a hard line on China.

“The stable, healthy and sustainable development of the China-US relations benefits people from both countries and is also what the international community hopes for,” Wang said during a multi-ministerial media briefing in Beijing on Friday.

Additionally, Wang noted that China was “capable of mitigating and withstanding the impact of external shocks”, and he pointed to “great resilience, potential and momentum” in the nation’s economy.

“History shows that imposing tariffs on China has not resolved the trade-deficit issues of the country imposing them,” he said. “On the contrary, [tariffs] have raised the prices of imported products … which inevitably leads to higher consumer prices and increased costs for users, resulting in rising prices and inflation.”

Trump vowed during his successful re-election campaign that he would impose tariffs of up to 60 per cent on all imports from China, which has long been one of the US’ largest trading partners.