China a threat to global economy, says Trump

The Trump administration accused China of hijacking intellectual property and pursuing industrial policies that threaten US economic and national security in a scathing report released by the White House as trade tensions with Beijing escalate.

The report, posted late on Tuesday in Washington, claims that China’s spectacular economic growth “has been achieved in significant part through aggressive acts, policies and practices that fall outside of global norms and rules.”

“Given the size of China's economy and the extent of its market-distorting policies, China's economic aggression now threatens not only the US economy, but also the global economy as a whole,” according to the 35—page document.

The White House report is the latest salvo in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Its release came a day after President Donald Trump ordered US trade officials to consider imposing tariffs

on an additional $200 billion in Chinese imports — with another $200 billion to be added if Beijing retaliates.

On the other side of the Pacific, economists are starting to run the numbers on what kind of dent to growth such actions will have on China’s economy. Bloomberg Economics' Tom Orlik and Fielding Chen write that the

impact of decreased exports and lower manufacturing investment could add up to a 0.5 per cent blow to gross domestic product.

A pull back in Chinese investment in the US is already evident.Research from Rhodium showed Chinese companies completed acquisitions and greenfield investments worth $1.8 billion in the first half.