U.S., China kick off ‘biggest trade war in economic history’

The U.S. and China BEIJING launched what Beijing called the “biggest trade war in economic history” Friday, imposing tariffs on billions of dollars of each other’s goods amid a dispute over technology.

The Trump administration is confronting China over development tactics it says include stealing technology or pressuring foreign companies to hand it over. American officials worry U.S. industrial leadership will be eroded by Chinese plans to create tech champions in fields including robotics, biotech and artificial intelligence.

Washington imposed 25 per cent duties on US$34 billion of imports from China, the first in a series of possible increases that President Donald Trump says could affect up to US$550 billion of Chinese goods, more than the total amount China exported to the U.S. last year.

The first round targets Chinese industrial goods, not consumer products, in an attempt to limit the impact on U.S. households, but companies that rely on Chinesemade machinery or components may eventually have to pass along increased costs to customers.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said “retaliatory tariffs” also took effect, but provided no other details. The Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily said tariffs were imposed on a list of goods issued last month that included soybeans, pork and electric vehicles. U.S. soybean farmers have been particularly concerned, and the price of soybeans has plunged 17 per cent over the past month on tariff fears.

Washington has “ignited the biggest trade war in economic history,” said a Commerce Ministry statement.

During an official visit to Bulgaria, China’s No. 2 leader, Premier Li Keqiang, said “no one will win by fighting a trade war, yet China will take countermeasures in the face of unilateral moves.”

Companies worry the dispute could chill global economic growth, but Asian financial markets took Friday’s developments in stride.

Japan’s main stock index, the Nikkei 225, gained 1.1 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.5 per cent. Hong Kong ’s Hang Seng also rose 0.5 per cent.

The conflict between the world’s two biggest economies reflects chronic tension in their relationship as customers, business partners, and increasingly competitors. It also is rooted in the clash between American notions of free trade and Beijing ’s state-led development model.