China to move at own pace despite US pressure

China will make economic changes at its own pace regardless of US pressure, and their worsening dispute over technology policy can only be solved through negotiations as equals, a Commerce Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

The comments reinforced Beijing’s rejection of US demands to scale back technology plans Washington says violate China’s free-trade commitments and might erode American industrial leadership.

The spokesman, Gao Feng, gave no indication of plans for more negotiations over the conflict, which threatens to chill global trade and economic growth.

“No matter what measures the United States takes to exert pressure, China will proceed with reform and opening up at its own pace,” Gao said.

The two sides have raised tariffs on $50 billion of each other’s products in the battle over Chinese plans for state-led creation of champions in robotics, electric cars and other technologies.

The Trump administration is poised to add penalties on an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods and Beijing has threatened to retaliate. Talks last week in Washington ended with no indication of progress.

“Dialogue and consultation based on equality and good faith is the only correct choice for resolving Chinese-US trade frictions,” Gao said. He said the two sides “maintain contact” but gave no details.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has said that efforts to reach a deal with Canada in the new North American Free Trade Agreement were “probably on track”.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was a “possibility of getting to a good deal for Canada” by Trump’s deadline but said the country will not sign a bad agreement.

Mexico, long the target of Trump’s ire, has cut a preliminary deal with the United States to replace NAFTA with a pact that’s meant, among other things, to shift more manufacturing into the United States. /