China keen to progress following stand-off with US

The retreat from a potential trade war between China and the United States is beneficial for both countries and global economic development, said China’s Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming in London on Monday.

Liu was addressing more than 100 representatives from the business, politics and academic sectors at the London-based think tank Asia House.

“For China, this outcome is in the interest of achieving high quality economic development, and meeting the growing consumption needs of the Chinese people. For the US, this outcome will cut trade deficit, support growth and employment,” he said.

His remarks came after two days of “positive, pragmatic, constructive and fruitful” talks in Washington between the Chinese and US government representatives, led by China’s Vice-Premier Liu He, and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, which concluded on Friday.

In a joint statement on Saturday, the two countries agreed to take measures to reduce the US trade deficit in goods, with China significantly increasing purchases of US goods and services, which will help support growth and employment in the US.

These agreements put a stop to the previously threatened trade war, which began earlier this year with US President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on up to $150 billion on Chinese goods, and China threatening equal retaliation.

Central to the bilateral tension is the existence of US’s $335 billion annual trade deficit with Beijing. Trump has also previously accused China of infringing US intellectual property, such as technology and copyright.

Liu said that while the dangers of a trade war have abated for now, the events of the past few months deserve deeper reflection. He gave China’s trading partners several suggestions for the development of win-win trade relations, for future consideration.

Firstly, Liu said it is important to stop being suspicious about China and see the country’s development in an objective way.

In particular, he stressed that China is still a developing country with its own problems and challenges. However, it is committed to pressing ahead with reform and opening up, processes that will provide many opportunities for its partners internationally.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up, which began in 1978. In the four decades since then, China has become the world's second-largest economy and the largest contributor to world growth.

“China will continue to open up. As soon as major measures are being implemented, this will bring more opportunities with the world,” Liu said.

Elsewhere in his speech, Liu stressed the importance of deepening the results of win-win collaboration, urging the US to treat Chinese products equally and fairly so that both countries can exercise their respective strengths to achieve mutual benefits.

He also stressed the importance of following international rules rather than domestic laws in international trade, and urged the international community to recognize China’s real progress in intellectual property protection over the years.