For what is considered to be Beijing's strongest response yet on the issue of trade war against the United States, a key Chinese official said that China won't yield to Washington's demands even it means facing further tariffs on its exports, adding that the West should never underestimate the resolve and will of this Asian nation.
In the latest interview with Bloomberg, Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan gave his remarks on the trade dispute fought between China and the US.
The minister said that while others think that China will be the first to break in this tit-for-tat tariff spat, this would hardly be the case at all. According to him, the two countries are closely intertwined and interdependent when it comes to global trade. The economic cooperation between Beijing and Washington has already been too deeply ingrained that one couldn't possibly survive without the other.
Zhong went on to debunk opinions saying that as long as the US keeps on increasing the tariffs on Chinese goods coming to its ports, China would eventually back down.
The minister reiterated Beijing's uncompromising stance in dealing with its conflict with Washington. He argued that the true victims of the US tariffs on Chinese imports are actually the American companies and consumers. Washington is actually shooting its own feet in its effort to inflict damage on China.
Moreover, the Chinese official made it clear in his response to Bloomberg that while the US is attacking its own exports, China, on the other hand, has become even more confident and capable of ensuring the growth and stability of its own economic condition.
In addition to this, Zhong emphasized the unyielding nature of the Chinese people who have suffered bullying from other countries in more than one occasion throughout its history as a nation. Not once did China succumb to any intimidation, even with its back against the wall.
Zhong reiterated the fact that Beijing doesn't want to wage any trade war against anybody. However, it will rise to the call if need be.
Zhong said that it is the government's topmost priority to safeguard the interest of the country and its citizens against unilateralism and trade protectionism instigated by the Trump administration while making sure to uphold free trade and multilateral trading system.
Latest Spat
On the latest development of China-US trade war, Beijing issued a retaliatory tariff on $60 billion worth of US imports including high-demand commodities like liquefied natural gas (LNG), crops, vegetables, and more others.
The US, on the other hand, put an additional duty on $200 billion Chinese import products.
