BEIJING — China’s government accused the Trump administration of hurting its credibility by acting erratically on trade and vowed Wednesday to fight back if Washington goes ahead with a threatened tariff hike.
A foreign ministry spokeswoman complained the U.S. decision to renew a threat to raise duties on a $50 billion list of Chinese goods conflicts with an agreement in mid-May aimed at settling that dispute. Treasury Steven Mnuchin said then that the conflict was “on hold” after Beijing promised to buy more U.S. goods to help narrow its multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the United States.
The spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, declined to say whether Tuesday’s announcement might disrupt plans for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to visit Beijing for talks starting Saturday. The Commerce Ministry didn’t respond to questions about the status of the meeting, but the American Embassy said a delegation of trade, agriculture and treasury officials had arrived in the Chinese capital to make preparations.
Hua gave no indication of whether Beijing planned to act on its own threat to retaliate by raising duties on a $50 billion list of American goods including beef and soybeans.
“Every flip-flop and U-turn of a country will be simply depleting and squandering its own credibility,” Hua said at a regular briefing.
“We do not want a trade war, but we are not afraid of one. We will fight back,” she said. “We will definitely take forceful measures to defend our legitimate interests.”
The White House announcement said it also would impose curbs on Chinese investment and purchases of high-tech exports.
Asian financial markets tumbled on renewed worries about a U.S.-Chinese trade spat.
China’s main market index fell 2.5 percent and Japan’s benchmark lost 1.5 percent.
The White House’s latest tariff action focuses on advanced technologies, including those such as robots and electric cars that China has said it wants to develop under its “Made in China 2025” program. The White House said a list of products would be announced June 15.
Trump’s surprise announcement reflects his frustration at criticism of his earlier deal with Beijing, Eurasia analysts said in a report. They said he appears less concerned that he needs Chinese support for his proposed meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“Trump is going on offense, reverting to his earlier instincts on China and re-empowering the trade hawks in his Cabinet,” Eurasia Group said. “This dynamic makes it likely that both tariffs and investment restrictions will go into effect.”
The American Chamber of Commerce in China said companies are uneasy about the threat of export and investment controls but see them as a possible way to make progress on longstanding complaints about market access and investment curbs.
