China threatens to retaliate
China vowed to retaliate after the US administration said it will impose a 10% tariff on about $200 billion in Chinese goods next week and more than double the rate in 2019.
The statement from the commerce ministry didn’t note specific actions, though China has previously said it would respond with levies on $60 billion worth of US goods. Such a move risks deepening the standoff even further, with President Donald Trump saying in a statement on Monday the US will immediately pursue additional tariffs on about $267 billion of Chinese imports if Beijing hits back.
“The US side insisted on imposing tariffs, which has brought new uncertainty to the bilateral negotiations,” the commerce ministry statement said. “We hope that the US side will recognise the negative consequences of such acts and take convincing measures to correct them in a timely manner.”
The foreign ministry said in a separate briefing that it would announce countermeasures at an appropriate time without elaborating.In a sign of how Chinese business are girding for a protracted dispute, Jack Ma, executive chairman of Internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, said the trade war could last for 20 years. It is “easy to launch a war but difficult to stop a war”, he said at the company’s annual investor day in Hangzhou.
Global markets reacted to the latest trade war escalation with relative calm. Chinese stocks gained amid expectations the government will take steps to offset the negative effect of tariffs.
On a panel at meetings of the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of China’s Securities Regulatory Commission, said China won’t be pressured by Trump’s trade tactics and talked up the economy’s strength.
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