China warns nations not to team up against it to gain US reprieve

By Vivian Wang

 

The Chinese government on Monday warned other countries against curbing trade with China in order to win a reprieve from American tariffs, promising to retaliate against countries that do so.

 

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it was responding to foreign media reports that US President Trump’s administration was trying to pressure other countries on their trade with China as a negotiating tactic.

 

“Appeasement will not bring peace, and compromise will not earn respect,” the ministry said in a statement. “Seeking so-called exemptions by harming the interests of others for one’s own selfish and shortsighted gains is like negotiating with a tiger for its skin. In the end, it will only lead to a lose-lose situation.”

 

China “firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests,” it said, adding that China would “resolutely take countermeasures.” The Trump administration has not officially said it would pressure countries to limit trade with China in return for relief from tariffs. But Trump has signaled that he is open to the idea. Last week Fox News programme, the host asked Trump whether Latin American countries should be forced to choose between Chinese and American investment.

 

“Maybe, yeah, maybe,” Trump responded. “They should do that.”

 

The US was the biggest single-country market for Chinese goods before the latest tariffs, but the Chinese government had been working for years to diversify its export markets, in part to hedge against rising tensions with Washington.

 

Since the latest escalation, China has been working furiously to shore up those ties with other countries, both to send a message that it will not be isolated, and to cast itself as a reliable alternative to an unpredictable America. Xi Jinping, hosted the PM of Spain earlier this month, and he toured several Southeast Asian countries last week. In Vietnam, Xi called on other countries to join with China in defending free trade and “an open and cooperative international environment.” In Malaysia, he urged the region to “reject decoupling, supply disruption” and “tariff abuse.” Chinese officials have been reaching out to officials from the European Union, Japan and South Korea.

 

Other countries have also stopped short of endorsing China’s calls to team up against the American tariffs. After a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media said China, Japan and South Korea had agreed on a joint response, a Korean official said the claim was “somewhat exaggerated.” But countries are also wary of offending China. Vietnam, for example, has not explicitly mentioned China in its promises to crack down on trade fraud.

 

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