Hands off, China warns Trump

– Trade tensions between the US and China heated up yesterday as Beijing warned that it “will not sit idle” if a US probe into its intellectual property practices leads to sanctions.

President Donald Trump’s decision to order the investigation comes on top of strains between the two nations over how to handle Beijing ally North Korea.

Trump on Monday signed a memorandum directing US trade representative Robert Lighthizer to determine whether Chinese policies hurt American investors or companies – with retaliatory measures a possible outcome.

“We will stand up to any country that unlawfully forces US companies to transfer their valuable technology as a condition of market access. We will combat the counterfeiting and piracy that destroys American jobs.

“Washington will turn a blind eye no longer,” Trump said, vowing to safeguard copyrights, patents and intellectual property that are “vital to our security”.

The president said the US would no longer tolerate Beijing’s “theft” of US industrial secrets.

China’s commerce ministry issued a statement voicing “serious concern” and warning that any US trade protectionism “will definitely harm bilateral trade relations”.

“If the US side take actions that impair the mutual trade relations, disregarding the facts and disrespecting multilateral trade rules, China will not sit idle,” the statement said. – AFP