CHINA MEDIA BLAMES U.S. FOR SETBACKS

Washington has gone back on its word by imposing more levies on US$200b of Chinese goods, says People’s Daily

CHINESE state media blamed the United States for a lack of progress in trade talks while emphasising China’s economic resilience, as the world awaits details on measures China has promised in retaliation for the US raising tariffs on Chinese goods.

People’s Daily, the flagship newspaper of China’s Communist Party, said in a front-page commentary the US should take full responsibility for the setbacks because it went back on its word and imposed more levies on Chinese products.

“That cast a shadow on the trade talks and directly led to the fruitless outcome” of trade discussions, said the paper.

The Global Times, an Englishlanguage web-based tabloid produced under the auspices of the People’s Daily, posted a similar editorial on Sunday.

It described “the fierce US offensive” as “irrational” and hurtful to the US economy.

China “is willing to reach a deal” on trade but will “never make concessions on issues of principle, nor trade its core interests”, it added.

Talks between the US and China ended without resolution last week with the White House imposing a second round of punitive duties on US$200 billion (RM832 billion) of Chinese goods, prompting China to vow retaliation.

In an interview with Chinese media after talks in Washington ended on Friday, Vice-Premier Liu He articulated China’s bottom line in detail for the first time since negotiations began.

In order to reach an agreement, the US must remove all extra tariffs, set targets for Chinese purchases of goods in line with real demand, and ensure the text of the deal was “balanced” to ensure the “dignity ” of both nations, said Liu.

In a rare move, the People’s Daily also published another commentary on its front page regarding the same topic. The article written by Guo Jiping, a pen name used by the newspaper to comment on international matters, said no challenge could slow China’s advance.

Repeated trade attacks by the US not only caused damage to its national reputation, but also “severely disrupted” the bilateral trade talks, said the commentary.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the Trump administration would release details of its plans for tariffs on an additional US$300 billion in imports from China, setting the process in motion for Trump to deliver on the threat to hammer all Chinese trade.

Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin said the imposition of those tariffs would mark the shift from a “comprehensive US offensive to a stalemate” that would be a battle of wills.