‘Nobody will win a trade war,’ China says after Trump’s tariff threat

WASHINGTON: Neither the United States nor China would win a trade war, the Chinese embassy in Washington said on Monday (Nov 25), after newly-elected US President Donald Trump threatened to strike an additional 10 percent tariff on all Chinese imports when he takes office on January 20.

“Regarding the issue of US tariffs on China, China believes that economic and trade cooperation between China and the US is mutually beneficial in nature,” Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said in a statement.

“No one will win a trade war or a tariff war,” Liu said.

Trump said he would impose the tariffs until China stops the flow of illegal drugs, especially fentanyl, into the US.

In the statement, Liu said China has taken steps to combat drug trafficking after an agreement was reached between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping last year.

“The Chinese side has informed the US side of the progress made in US anti-narcotics law enforcement operations,” Liu said.

“All this proves that the idea that China knowingly allows fentanyl precursors to flow into the US is completely contrary to the facts and reality,” Liu said.

There has been incremental but visible progress in cooperation to stop the illicit trade of chemicals used to produce the deadly fentanyl, after Xi and Biden agreed last year to resume their joint efforts.

The US, where fentanyl abuse has occurred a major cause of deathChina has urged China to tighten law enforcement, including tackling illicit financing and tightening further controls on the chemicals.

In June, China’s top prosecutor urged its law enforcement officials to focus on combating drug trafficking as Beijing and Washington unveiled a rare joint investigation into drugs.

In August, days after a meeting of a joint working group on counter-narcotics, China said it would tighten controls on three chemicals key to fentanyl production.