China rebuffs Trump threat to take steps to win trade edge

WASHINGTON— China pushed back on Wednesday against President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to use sanctions to win back a competitive trade advantage for the United States.

On the campaign trail, Trump had threatened to slap 45 percent tariffs on Chinese products and to label China a “currency manipulator.”

But Zhang Xiangchen, China’s deputy trade representative, warned that Trump will find he is bound by the rules of the World Trade Organization, which restrain countries from imposing sanctions without making a persuasive case for them.

China can challenge any sanctions at the WTO.

Speaking at the end of annual US-China trade talks, Zhang also disputed the idea that China keeps its currency artificially low to give its exporters a price advantage.

Many economists agree that China no longer manipulates its currency, the yuan.

At the meeting, the United States and China agreed to continue working on vexing issues such as China’s overpro- duction of steel.

US Trade Rep. Michael Froman stressed the importance of keeping the commercial relationship with China “on as even a keel as possible.”

But the talks were overshadowed by the prospect of a new administration that vows to take a more aggressive stance toward Chinese trade practices, which, Trump has charged, have wiped out US jobs.

He has pointed to the gaping US trade gap with China — $334 billion last year — as a key factor in destroying those jobs. (AP)