FM: Tariff threats are sure to fail

Wang Yi says Washington’s actions won’t eliminate its trade imbalance

The United States will not only fail to reach its goal but will also reap what it has sown, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday in response to Washington’s latest threat to ratchet up trade tensions with Beijing.

The US “still cannot eliminate what it claims as its trade imbalance” if it reduces imports from China and raises them from other countries, Wang said at a news conference on the sidelines of the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and related meetings in Singapore.

US President Donald Trump has directed US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to consider increasing the proposed additional duty on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent, Lighthizer’s office said in a statement on Wednesday.

In a conference call on Wednesday, two Trump Administration officials told reporters that Trump remains open to communication with China.

The Ministry of Commerce responded on Thursday that “China has made sufficient preparations” for the US tariff threat, and it will have to take countermeasures to defend the country’s dignity and the interests of its people.

China upholds dialogue for resolving differences, but treating each other on equal footing and honoring promises are prerequisites for dialogue, the ministry said in a statement.

Wang Yi noted that Washington is encouraging the return of production lines to the US while China’s domestic demand is rising.

“We are willing to import more goods from all over the world that meet the needs of the Chinese market. I think these US enterprises will not give up China’s increasingly expanding market,” Wang said. See Tariffs, page 3