Foreign Ministry spokesperson says blaming trade deficit on China not objective

The deficit of the US in its trade with China is the result of multiple factors, including global division of labor and the two country’s varied competitive strengths, an official with China’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

The statement was made on US President Donald Trump’s comments that China has obtained over $500 billion a year from the US to rebuild itself.

“The US should not blame China for such a trade deficit, as its self-imposed restrictions on the exports of high-value added products prevented China from buying more goods,” said Lu Kang, spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry.

Lu said that China’s foreign trade has always been conducted according to market rules and China has conducted fair trade over the years.

And the US-China trade deficit is definitely not a one-way street in which wealth is sent to the Chinese side as the US side claimed, he said.

The US benefited tremendously from its trade and economic cooperation with China, Lu pointed out.

According to estimates by some US agencies, US-China trade saves $850 a year for each American household.

The Deutsche Bank said in a June report that the US actually gained more net commercial interest from its trade with China.

“Nobody wants to do a lossmaking business, not to mention doing it for more than 20 years,” the spokesperson said.

The US Commerce Department said on Friday that the US trade deficit increased 6.4 percent to $53.2 billion, widening for a third straight month and reaching a record high since February despite Trump’s aim of narrowing the trade gap with China and other countries.

Against Trump’s expectations, China’s merchandise trade surplus with the US also grew in August to a record of $38.6 billion, up from $36.8 billion in July.