The nearly $60 billion in tariffs on Chinese exports may be “a little shock therapy” for Beijing, President Donald Trump’s latest pick for White House national security adviser said Sunday.
“I don’t think anybody is looking to have a trade war,” John Bolton explained to New York AM 970 radio host John Catsimatidis, according to The Hill. “For far too long, China has taken advantage of its place in the world … the trade arrangements it has with the United States and other countries.”
“The United States lives by these agreements,” he asserted. “All we’re asking for here is for the Chinese to do the same. So I think this could be a little shock therapy, get their attention, and hopefully it’ll have a good impact.”
The president announced Thursday tens of billions of dollars in trade penalties in response to Chinese theft of American intellectual property. Trump’s trade moves prompted countless trade war hot takes from experts and journalists, and it seemed to shake the markets. Furthermore, the proposed penalties resulted in criticism from Beijing.
“China does not want a trade war with anyone,” the Chinese Embassy in the United States said Thursday. “But China is not afraid of and will not recoil from a trade war. China is confident and capable of facing any challenge. If a trade war were initiated by the U.S., China would fight to the end to defend its own legitimate interests with all necessary measures.”
China revealed a few hours later it is considering high tariffs on U.S. exports to China worth around $3 billion in response to the steel and aluminum tariffs the president announced earlier this month. China has signaled that it will take an even tougher approach to the trade penalties imposed on China in response to alleged intellectual property theft.
China’s Ministry of Commerce urged the U.S. Friday to not put “bilateral trade relations in jeopardy.”
In a phone call with Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, China stands “ready and capable of defending its national interest and hopes both sides will remain rational,” China economic czar Liu He revealed.
The U.S. is launching a “trade offensive” against China — a clear rhetorical response to U.S. claims that China engages in “economic aggression” — the nationalist Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times asserted
“Intimidating China won’t work. If Washington moves ahead with a trade war, it will mire itself in great loss,” the paper argued, adding, “China doesn’t fear a long trade war with the U.S. and will never be the first one to retreat. China doesn’t support a trade war, but it is determined and prepared not to be the defeated side. To have a trade war or talks, that’s the U.S.’ call.”
Speaking at the China Development Forum in Beijing Sunday, Vice Premier Han Zheng warned a trade war benefits no one. “A trade war serves the interests of none. It will only lead to serious consequences and negative impact,” he explained, calling for rational negotiation.
Beijing has been complaining about the proposed tariffs on an almost daily basis.
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