China, ‘Not Afraid’ of Trade War With Trump, Matches Tariffs Against U.S. Goods

‘There are no winners in a trade war, and going against the world will only lead to self-isolation,’ President Xi says.

AP/Ng Han Guan
President Xi, pictured at the Great Hall of the People at Beijing, says he's "not afraid" of American tariffs. AP/Ng Han Guan

Communist China is amping up the tit-for-tat trade war against America, raising reciprocal tariffs to an astronomical 125 percent.

The standoff comes after Chinese officials placed the new levy on top of an earlier 20 percent tariff in response to President Trump’s recent levy of 145 percent on Chinese Goods. The rates will go into effect on Saturday.

President Xi was unflinching about the back-and-forth between two nations during comments made on Friday.

“There are no winners in a trade war, and going against the world will only lead to self-isolation.” he said during a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez before the new levies were announced. “For over 70 years, China’s development has relied on self-reliance and hard work — never on handouts from others, and it is not afraid of any unjust suppression,” he added according to a report from State-run media outlet CCTV.

Government officials in the communist nation also mocked the escalating trade war and said that they would not raise rates any further, despite further action from Mr. Trump.

“Even if the U.S. continues to impose higher tariffs, it will no longer make economic sense and will become a joke in the history of world economy,” the Chinese Finance Ministry said in a statement translated by CNBC.

“With tariff rates at the current level, there is no longer a market for U.S. goods imported into China. If the U.S. government continues to increase tariffs on China, Beijing will ignore.”

Despite political posturing from both sides, other officials in Beijing have indicated that they are open to negotiating with America.

“China is open to negotiations with the United States, but threats and pressure are not the right way to deal with China,” reads a translation of a separate statement from the Ministry of Commerce. “The United States should properly resolve differences with China through equal dialogue on the basis of mutual respect.”

The recent back and forth between the two nations has led to hopes of resolving trade tensions to fade.

“It’s unfortunate that the Chinese actually don’t want to come and negotiate, because they are the worst offenders in the international trading system,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business after Communist China originally raised reciprocal tariffs to 84 percent on Wednesday.

“They have the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world, and I can tell you that this escalation is a loser for them.”


The New York Sun

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