Associated Press: China warns that Trump's latest tariff measures may harm trade relations

Associated Press, Paris, March 16: At the end of high-level talks held in Paris on Monday, China warned that President Trump's latest tariff measures could damage bilateral trade relations.

The report said that Li Chenggang, China's international trade representative, expressed serious concern about trade investigations into foreign manufacturing launched by the Trump administration after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down its earlier tariffs (Li Chenggang, China’s international trade representative, said the Chinese side had expressed serious concern about trade investigations into manufacturing in foreign countries that the Trump administration launched after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down its earlier tariffs).

Li told reporters, "We are concerned that the outcomes of such investigations may interfere with or damage the hard-won and stable China-U.S. economic and trade relations," he said. He pointed out, "Both sides discussed the possible extension of tariffs and non-tariff measures against each other, but China expressed concerns about the uncertainty that may arise from the U.S. adjusting its measures. Both sides agreed to work to maintain tariff stability."

The report said that this meeting aimed to prepare for Trump's planned visit to China two weeks later, although the president has warned that the visit may be postponed. Li did not comment on this or answer questions.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bensinger, who led the U.S. delegation at the Paris meeting, said the talks were "constructive and showed the stability of the relationship between the two countries," and added, "The purpose of these meetings is to prevent any retaliatory actions."

The report said that Trump indicated he might delay his much-anticipated trip to China because he is seeking Beijing's help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease the surge in oil prices during the Iran war. However, Bensinger said that any postponement would not be to pressure China on this issue. "If the president postpones the visit, it has nothing to do with China's commitment to the Strait of Hormuz," he told reporters.

"It clearly serves their interest, but the postponement of the visit will not be because the president's demands have not been met," Bensinger added. "If the visit is indeed postponed, it will be because as commander-in-chief of the U.S. military, he believes he should remain in the United States during this war."

The report said that U.S. Trade Representative Jamie Mason Grier, who accompanied Bensinger, stated that the Paris talks outlined "general terms of a work plan" for the summit between the two heads of state in order to produce "potential summit outcomes."

He said they also discussed trade investigations related to China. "In fact, when we started this meeting, we gave them a heads-up on the work being done in U.S. trade policy after the Supreme Court made adjustments," Grier said. "Keep in mind that the president's trade policy hasn't changed. Our tools may change, and we are conducting these investigations. We don't want to pre-judge the results, and we had good communication with the other side on this process."

The original title of the report was "China warns Trump’s latest tariff moves could damage trade ties" (China warns Trump's latest tariff measures may harm trade relations).

Original: toutiao.com/article/1859854933809161/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.