China blames US for trade war

BEIJING: The Donald Trump administration is preaching economic hegemony and using trade tariffs to intimidate China, according to a new government policy paper released by Beijing on Monday.

By adopting the “America First” policy, the Trump administration has abandoned the “fundamental norms of mutual respect and equal consultation” in international relations, the white paper on the US-China trade war said.

The policy paper was released in Beijing as the US administration’s tariffs on another $200 billion of Chinese goods - levied last week - kicked in, ramping up a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. China is poised to retaliate with tariffs on US$60 billion in US goods.

Trump has said he will then retaliate with new duties on another $267 billion in Chinese imports. The new US duties cover nearly 6,000 items - including goods ranging from rice to handbags - making them the biggest round of trade tariffs from Washington.

The trade war, the white paper argued, was triggered because of the US administration’s wrong policies, which are against international relations.

“Rather, it (the US government) has brazenly preached unilateralism, protectionism and economic hegemony, making false accusations against many countries and regions, particularly China, intimidating other countries through economic measures such as imposing tariffs, and attempting to impose its own interests on China through extreme pressure,” the white paper said.

The US side has been contradicting itself and constantly challenging China, it added.

“As a result, trade and economic friction between the two sides has escalated quickly over a short period of time, causing serious damage to the economic and trade relations which have developed over the years through the collective work of the two governments and the two peoples, and posing a grave threat to the multilateral trading system and the principle of free trade,” it said.

China has been dealing with these differences with an attitude of seeking common ground while shelving divergence, the white paper said.

It added: “In the spirit of equality, rationality, and moving to meet each other halfway, the two countries have set up a number of communication and coordination mechanisms such as the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, and the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue.”