Unlike previous year, when U.S. President Donald Trump sounded protectionist warnings that were largely dismissed as bluster, Mr Chau and other factory bosses across China say the risks from this trade spat are now far more tangible.
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The world’s two largest economies have threatened each other with tens of billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs in recent weeks, leading to worries that Washington and Beijing may engage in a full-scale trade war that could damage global growth and roil markets.
For the first quarter as a whole, however, exports still grew a hearty 14.1 per cent. While Taiwan is democratically run and enjoys American military support, China considers it a province and has made acceptance of its “one-China” claim a precondition for diplomatic ties – including with the U.S. A recent study from Purdue University estimated that the effect of proposed soybean tariffs on US producers will be as much or more damaging to China than the USA, as Chinese demand for feed grains like soybeans and sorghum skyrocket in recent years.
The statistical authority also said the U.S.is the top export market for the European Union with exports amounting to €61.7 billion ($75.9 billion), accounting for 20.58 percent of the 28 countries’ exports in January and February.
According to Suleski, the tariffs imposed on American goods by China will be felt the strongest in the industrial sector. His unquestioned authority, some say, has made it more hard for the party apparatus to deliver news that contradicts him.
In March, the “2018 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community” explained that “foreign countries – particularly China and Russian Federation – will continue to expand their space-based reconnaissance, communications and navigation system in term of the numbers of satellites, the breadth of their capability and the applications for their use…”
The trade deficit came in at USD4.98 billion in March, in contrast to the expected surplus of USD27.5 billion.
The Trump administration is also threatening tariffs on another US$100 billion of Chinese products and is now working on restrictions against Chinese investment in the US.
Hu added that the impact from China-US trade tension had been limited for now because many measures have yet to be implemented.
His keynote address at what is known as Asia’s Davos brought a warm response from Trump, but these latest trade figures are likely to trigger a different reaction.
Chinese People’s Liberation Army navy soldiers of a guard of honor look at Chinese President Xi Jinping (Front) during a welcoming ceremony for King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain outside the Great Hall of People on September 16, 2013 in Beijing, China.
Last month, President Xi delivered a strongly nationalistic speech in which he vowed to protect “every inch” of China’s territory.
REBECCA LINDLAND: They’ll have to cut down their exports, which means cutting down the plant production, which means cutting staff, cutting wages – cut, cut, cut.
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But Vice Commerce Minister Qian Keming said at the forum on Tuesday (10 April) that China’s economic reforms were driven by domestic factors and not due to external pressures.
