As yuan slumps to 11-year low, China offers dialogue with US

After Chinese yuan slumped to a fresh 11-year low against the US dollar, China on Monday said that it opposes a trade escalation with the US and is ready to engage in a dialogue.

"China strongly opposes trade protectionism and blockade in the field of new technologies. China is making efforts to ensure the integrity of production chains, we are ready to resolve the existing problem through consultation and cooperation, we strongly oppose the escalation of the trade war," Sputnik quoted Chinese Vice Premier Liu He as saying.

Liu, who led the Chinese delegation at all trade negotiation with the United States, made these remarks at the opening of the international exhibition Smart China Expo.

China's yuan hit an 11-year low in onshore trade and tumbled to a record low in offshore trade after a sharp re-escalation in the US-China trade war.

This comes after US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that he was having a second thought about raising tariffs against China.

At a breakfast meeting with the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Trump was asked if he was rethinking his decision to escalate tariffs against China.

He replied: "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

Asked again, he repeated: "Might as well. Might as well ... I have second thoughts about everything."

China had two days ago announced its plans to impose an additional tariff on USD 75 billion worth of US products, in retaliation to Trump's threats to impose new duties on Chinese imports next month. The new duties would be implemented in two batches - the first from September 1 and the second from December 15, reported South China Morning Post.

Trump had pledged to retaliate against the latest round of tariff imposed by China on USD 75 billion worth of US goods.