China ‘worried’ over trade relations with US even as surplus narrows

BEIJING: China expressed concern yesterday over the US ramping up trade investigations as official data showed its surplus with America narrowed in January after reaching record levels last year.

This week China announced an investigation into imports of a US agricultural product after President Donald Trump’s administration launched a spate of new trade tariffs and probes into Chinese goods.

The Trump administration has shown no signs of letting up, with major decisions looming on Chinese aluminium, steel and intellectual property practices.

The tensions are raising the spectre of a tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

“There has been an upward trend in US investigative organs looking into China’s products and launching trade relief cases,” said Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng during a press conference. “China is worried about this.” The US imposed new tariffs on Chinesemade solar panels and washing machines this year after hitting aluminium foil and plywood last year.

China has so far held off from retaliating by adding new tariffs on US imports, but Beijing has indicated it may not show such restraint for much longer.

This week China initiated an antidumping investigation into sorghum imports from the US, worth almost US$1 billion (RM3.92 billion) last year.

That was a sliver of the US$14 billion in US soybean imports, which China hinted could be in its crosshairs as well. It was America’s largest export to China last year.

Official data released by China’s General Administration of Customs may relieve some pressure generated by its vast trade surplus with the US.

It reached record highs during Trump’s first year in office – US$375.2 billion by US counting, or US$275.8 billion according to Chinese data.

In January, China’s trade surplus with the US dropped to US$21.9 billion, from US$25.6 billion in December. The figure is roughly equal to the surplus China posted with the US in January 2017.

Still, analysts worry the persisting deficit will compound sensitive trade relations between the two countries. – AFP