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China says it does not want a trade war but will respond firmly if the US pushes it in that direction [PPIO]
“I am a strong believer in multilateralism to address global problems. There is no way global problems can be addressed on a country by country basis. Global problems need to have global answers and global answers can only be implemented through multilateral frameworks,” Antonio Guterres told reporters ahead of his trip to attend the Boao diplomatic and economic forum hosted in eastern China.
Guterres was responding to questions about Trump’s decision to increase the amount of Chinese products affected by a 25 per cent tariff to $150 billion worth in trade.
China has vowed to respond in scope and intensity to the threat of US tariffs, accusing Washington of protectionism that threatens the functions of the World Trade Organization and the international trade system.
On Wednesday, China said it had drafted a list of US products including soybeans, pork, whiskey, and American-grown ginseng among other agricultural and manufactured goods which would be part of its retaliatory tariff measures.
Trump said Chinese counter-measures were unfair. He had long blamed the $300-billion trade deficit with China on unfair practices.
But on Friday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said: “”We will take new comprehensive measures to respond and resolutely defend the interests of the country and the people.”
Economists are warning that while no measures have yet been implemented, the tit-for-tat rhetoric could quickly escalate and bring down global financial markets as the world’s two largest economies clash.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
