China urges trade cooperation
US ramps up measures, threatens more
Cooperation is the “only right choice” for Sino-US relations and China does not expect bilateral trade disputes to rise, a Chinese trade official said Thursday.
The US announced on Monday that it would impose new tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines, many of them from China.
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Wednesday said the Made in China 2025 technology strategy was a “direct threat” and hinted at action against China during the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
After 40 years of development, China-US economic and trade relations have evolved into a situation of combined interests, Gao Feng, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), told a press conference in Beijing.
Cooperation will benefit the two countries while tension will harm both sides, Gao said. As the two largest economies in the world, China and the US can promote development not only for each other, but also for the sake of advancing global economic growth, according to Gao.
The two countries should avoid bringing uncertainties to the development of the world’s economy and affecting the stable environment of global trade and investment, he said.
“Cooperation is the only right choice between China and the US,” Gao noted, adding that China’s door for talks has always been open.
On January 19, the US Trade Representative said in a report that allowing China to join the WTO had been a mistake.
Gao said that the report goes against the facts as well as showing a strong protectionist attitude, and China strongly opposes it.
China’s membership of the WTO has brought opportunities and more driving force for world economic growth, Gao said, adding that according to data from the UN and IMF, China’s economic development contributed more than 30 percent of global economic growth in 2017.
China has made efforts to open up, and after the country joined the WTO in 2001, it reduced tariffs from 15.3 percent to 9.8 percent, according to Gao.