Following the global markets’ dramatic reaction to the trade levies, which triggered Chinese retaliation, China said on Saturday that the market has rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and encouraged Washington to participate in “equal-footed consultation.”
On Saturday, declarations were also issued by a number of Chinese trade associations covering sectors like electronics, textiles, and healthcare. These declarations warned that the tariffs would worsen U.S. inflation and called for cooperation in the search for other markets.
In a Saturday morning Facebook post, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, “The market has spoken.” He also posted a picture on Friday that showed the losses in U.S. markets.
Trump added a 34% duty on Chinese goods to the hefty tariffs already applied to other U.S. trading partners, increasing the total duties on China this year to 54%.
Trump also closed a trade loophole that allowed low-value imports from China to enter the United States duty-free.
China responded to this in full on Friday, imposing further 34% taxes on all U.S. goods and restricting exports of some rare earths. The trade dispute between the two biggest economies in the world intensified as a result.
China’s retaliation and Trump’s announcement on Friday that he would not change his direction caused a sharp drop in the world’s financial markets. This represented the biggest losses since the outbreak and continued the sharp declines that had followed Trump’s original tariff statement earlier in the week. The S&P 500 fell 9% throughout the course of the week.
“The United States must stop its foolish actions and settle its disputes with trading partners through mutually beneficial consultation,” Guo wrote in English.
The “China’s food and agricultural products import and export industry should unite and strengthen cooperation to jointly explore domestic and foreign markets,” according to a statement from the country’s chamber of commerce, which represents dealers in food items.
xz
