‘We don’t want a trade war’: Li Keqiang calls on Trump to work with China
Chinese premier says Beijing does not want its ASEAN neighbours compelled to pick sides
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday called on US President Donald Trump to work with China to avoid a trade war and create “opportunities rather than trouble” for Southeast Asian neighbours caught between the two powers over the long-standing South China Sea dispute.
His remarks, made at the annual press conference at the end of the National People’s Congress, struck a positive note on Sino-US relations ahead of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit to Beijing this weekend, the first by a top Trump administration official.
Li also pledged to establish a bond market link between Hong Kong and the mainland, while stressing the thorough implementation of “one country, two systems”. He also denied the economy was in for a hard landing and threw his support behind a united Europe.
Tillerson is expected to pave the way for the first face-to-face summit between Trump and President Xi Jinping, a meeting that will reportedly be held at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida early next month.
“We don’t want to see a trade war between the two nations. That wouldn’t make our trade fairer and it would hurt both sides,” Li said.
