Asia

'Street Fighter-Style Deceitful Drama': China State Media Slams Trump Tariffs

China state media said on Monday that the US had escalated economic friction with Beijing, turning international trade into a "zero-sum game," Reuters reported, citing the People's Daily newspaper.
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People's Daily accused in an editorial the US President Donald Trump in an usually direct attack, saying that Trump was "starring in his own carefully orchestrated street fighter-style deceitful drama".

"Governing a country is not like doing business," People's Daily editorial stressed, adding that Trump's moves endangered the national credibility of the United States.

Trump Tariffs See Beijing Use Economic ‘Precision Strikes’ Against US Brands
Since March, the Trump administration introduced a series of tariffs on imports, prompting a backlash from Washington's trade partners. Particularly, the European Union and China filed complaints with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the US trade practices.

On Sunday, Donald Trump argued that the US would be ble to pay the large part of its $21-trillion dept due to import tariffs introduced by the current administration.

"Because of Tariffs we will be able to start paying down large amounts of the $21 Trillion in debt that has been accumulated, much by the Obama Administration, while at the same time reducing taxes for our people. At minimum, we will make much better Trade Deals for our country!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

China's Ministry of Finance said on Friday that Beijing was ready to slap new tariffs of up to 25 percent on goods from the United States valued at about $60 billion in response to the proposed hefty US tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products.

India to Impose Increased Tariffs on US Import Goods in Fall - Reports
The statement stressed that China’s retaliatory measures only serve the purpose of defending its “lawful rights and hopes to avoid the trade friction from escalating through such measures."

However, the Chinese ministry accused the US actions of “disrupting the global supply chain and free trade system” and causing “serious damage” to the interests of China and its citizens, adding that such actions could also have negative impacts on global economic growth.

The US-China trade dispute started after Washington imposed steep steel and aluminum tariffs and banned exports to Chinese telecommunications company ZTE. The parties tried to negotiate a trade deal and agreed to cut the bilateral trade imbalance in May, but the tensions escalated after the United States levied a further 25 percent tariff on Chinese goods worth $34 billion on July 6, with Beijing immediately responding in kind.

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