Beijing has called on the US to “completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures” if it wants trade talks, in some of China’s strongest comments yet on the impasse between the world’s two economic superpowers.
“The unilateral tariff measures were initiated by the US,” said He Yadong, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson. “If the US truly wants to solve the problem, it should . . . completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China and find a way to resolve differences through equal dialogue.”
Beijing has maintained that the US must make the first move to de-escalate the crisis, which is threatening to spark a hard decoupling between the two countries’ economies.
Chinese analysts argue that the US imposition of high tariffs make it difficult for Beijing to find a way to defuse the crisis.
China’s President Xi Jinping would find it difficult to engage personally with Trump on the trade war unless this was preceded by extensive negotiations to hammer out a deal, they say.
Sunk cost fallacy. The trade war is a collossal mistake on the part of the US. It can accomplish nothing. Trump’s entire strategy was based on the idea of tarrifs being more undesirable for his opponents than for him. He was wrong.
China is not worried if the US issues a full embargo on Chinese exports to the USA. China’s focus is on the rest of the world when it comes to trade and it’s only focus on the US is worrying about US military adventures that it needs to defend against.
As for Hong Kong, you mean the city that England stole from China when they devastated them after getting half their people addicted to opium because it was the only thing the English could figure out how to sell? You mean the city that was run as an oppressive colony by brutal British governors until they realized they were finally going to have to give the city back and then decided to do a complete propaganda/indoctrination move, enrich token Hong Kongers, “enhance” the already existing indoctrination in schools that worshipped British “civilization” and propagandized their captive audience to fear and loathe their own countrymen? That Hong Kong situation that China has successfully worked through so far in a processes of integration, deradicalization, and respect? That situation? Where the protests in Hong Kong saw protestors throwing fire bombs at police force weeks on end but never escalated into a police riot like what happens in the US? That situation?