Hong Kong
Cnn
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Beijing warned its business partners against succumbing to American pressures to isolate China in the pricing war of President Donald Trump, as part of his carrot and stick approach to gain countries taken between the two biggest economies in the world.
Commenting on recent media reports on the Trump administration plans to put pressure on countries to restrict trade with China in exchange for exemptions from American prices, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Monday: “Appeal does not bring peace and compromise does not gain respect.”
“The search for temporary personal interest at the expense of others -in exchange for so -called exemptions -is like asking a tiger his skin.
“China is firmly opposed to a party reaching an agreement at the expense of China’s interests. If such a situation arises, China will not accept it and resolutely take reciprocal countermeasures,” added the spokesperson.
The severe warning occurs in the heels of the charm offensive of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Southeast Asia, where he presented China as a reliable partner and a fiery defender of world trade – in contrast with the price stroke and the political uncertainty of the Trump administration.
Pressure has stacked countries and businesses while trying to spin the needle between the two economic superpowers, which slapped the records on each other in a quickly degenerating fight that rolled world markets, disturbed supply chains and stifled the recession.
On April 9, Trump interrupted his “reciprocal” prices on most nations for 90 days while completely shrinking the center of his historic trade war on China, taking samples from Chinese imports at 145% amazing. Many countries hope to renegotiate the samples with the United States before the expiration of the suspension.
In response, China retaliated by increasing the prices on American products at 125% and adding more American companies on its export control list and its unreliable entities list. Beijing has also moved to exercise pain on the main American industries, restricting the number of Hollywood films displayed in the country and Back at least two Boeing jets intended to be used by Chinese airlines in the United States.
With the United States and China in the throat of the other on prices, neither of the leaders is retreating – and both seek to build a large coalition of countries against the other.
The Wall Street Journal reported Last week, the Trump administration planned to use current pricing negotiations to put pressure on American trade partners to limit their relations with China, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of conversations.
The idea is to extract the commitments of American trade partners to isolate the economy of China in exchange for discounts of commercial and price barriers imposed by the White House, in particular by asking the nations to ban China to send goods through their country, prevent Chinese companies from settling in their territories to avoid American prices and not absorb Chinese industrial goods in their economies, reported the WSJ.
For its part, China has sought to capitalize on chaos and uncertainty unleashed by Trump and the rally countries by his side.
During his first trip abroad this year, XI visit Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia last week, signing a barrage of bilateral cooperation agreements and committing to maintain free and open trade. The three economies related to export were affected by “reciprocal” prices up to 49% before the samples were interrupted.
Chinese officials have also organized calls and discussions with counterparts in Japan, South Korea and the European Union to put pressure on closer economic cooperation.
But while countries seem to be receptive to the awareness of Beijing, they also be wary of being flooded with cheap Chinese goods which are now excluded from the American markets due to the tariffs of the sky – and the risk of causing Trump to rose with China. Beijing’s economic coercion file, aggressive commercial practices and assertive military posture in the region does not help either.
Elizabeth Economy, a principal researcher at the Hoover Institution of the University of Stanford, said that despite the openings in China, countries do not “jump to the opportunity to associate with China”.
“For many of these countries, even when China is a larger trading partner, the United States is often a much larger export market. They therefore have important issues with the American economy as well, “she said.
And even if XI launches its offensive charm, Beijing does not stop its military assertion in the region, the economy added, citing Chinese-Live-Tire exercises in waters near Australia and New Zealand in February, a continuous aggression against Taiwan, the Philippines of the South China Sea and Japan on the Senkaku Islands of the Sea of the East China.
“They do not receive in terms of security ambitions even if they try to promote themselves as a stabilizing economic force. So, I think that this charming offensive must be more intra-embracing if Xi Jinping will really achieve the types of advantages that I think he wants what President Trump does, “she said.
This story has been updated with additional information.