Fears of US-China trade war rise
Watch for growing economic tensions between US and China in 2018, a visiting strategist has warned. Bonnie Glaser, the director of the China Power Project at Washington DC’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies, warned of worsening trade relationships over intellectual property.
In August, US President Donald Trump ordered a so-called 301 investigation under the 1974 US Trade Act, which allows the White House to unilaterally impose tariffs and trade restrictions to protect American industries from ‘‘unfair trade practices’’.
The nub of the argument is China’s policy of forcing foreign companies to form joint ventures with local firms and then turn over technology to them, as well as alleged intellectual property theft.
Glaser told Stuff: ‘‘I was told that before Trump went to China (during a five-nation Asian visit) the US was not ready to roll out the results of its investigation and trade remedies against China.
‘‘But they are very much under consideration. So I think it is only a matter of time before we talk of imposing tariffs, quotas.’’
Any moves by the US to impose restrictions in the US$648.2 billion (NZ$923.6b) China-US trade could lead to retaliation by Beijing.
‘‘They will retaliate. Absolutely.’’ Glaser’s visit was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade as part of a knowledge exchange.
She pointed to Premier Xi Jinping’s recent speech to his party congress, which explicitly listed artificial intelligence, high tech manufacturing technology, and big data as areas for rapid improvement.
Glaser gives Trump credit for his focus on the Korean peninsula.
‘‘When you make something the number one issue with Xi Jinping and you basically convey that the entire relationship rests on whether this issue can be handled properly, then the Chinese sit up and take notice.
‘‘Trump has compelled the Chinese to do more than they have ever done on North Korea.
‘‘It may be too late. North Korea is on the verge of having a deliverable nuclear weapon that can hit the continental United States. So, frankly in the new, we should have done this five years ago.’’