‘No winners’: China’s Xi warns US against a trade war

Beijing is ready to work out its differences with Washington and seek mutually beneficial relations, Xi Jinping has said

Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned that neither side will emerge victorious in the event of a trade war with the US.

The Chinese leader spoke on Tuesday to the heads of major international economic organizations at the ‘1+10’ Dialogue forum in Beijing. The attendees included the heads of the BRICS+ New Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and World Trade Organization.

Beijing is willing to maintain dialogue, broaden cooperation, and manage its differences with Washington, Xi said, while expressing hope that the US will do the same.

“Tariff wars, trade wars and sci-tech wars go against the trend of history and the laws of economics, and there will be no winners.”

Last month, the Chinese leader stressed that any attempts to stifle China’s economic growth would be a “red line” for Beijing in its relationship with Washington. Neither superpower should try to “remodel the other according to one’s own will,” suppress or “deprive the other of the legitimate right to development,” Xi stressed.

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US President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20, has pledged to ramp up protectionist measures to defend American economic interests, especially against China.

Under the first Trump administration, Washington waged a trade war against Beijing, resulting in mutual tariffs and sanctions. The outgoing administration of President Joe Biden has continued the practice, accusing Beijing of “unfair business practices” and imposing tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese goods.

In December, the US restricted exports of chip-making equipment and software to China. In response, China banned exports of dual-use items and key raw materials used in semiconductor production and military applications.

The Biden administration will double existing tariffs on critical solar panel components starting from January 1, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s office announced on Wednesday. The protectionist measure will “further blunt the harmful policies and practices by the People’s Republic of China,” Tai claimed.