BEIJING: China has started a pair of investigations into US trade practices, retaliating against similar probes by the Trump administration as the superpowers stake out positions before an expected presidential summit in May.
The move, announced by the Commerce Ministry last Friday, is a direct mirror of steps US President Donald Trump took to revive his tariff agenda after the Supreme Court last month struck down some of his duties.
“China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to these actions,” a Commerce Ministry spokesperson said in a statement, referring to the so-called Section 301 investigations initiated on March 11.
The Chinese measures come days after the White House said Trump will travel to China in mid-May to meet with President Xi Jinping for a summit delayed by the United States conflict with Iran.
The world’s two biggest economies have largely stabilised ties after a tariff tit-for-tat last year, although Beijing has signalled its opposition to fresh US actions.
“We know that these are merely symbolic investigations initiated by China, which is in fact the world’s most profligate disrupter of supply chains and trade in green products. No one is fooled,” US trade representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.
“Despite this posturing, the United States’ objective continues to be economic stability and balanced trade with China, in line with the United States and China deal reached last year in Busan, South Korea.”
The attacks on Iran, a diplomatic partner of China, also brought new strains to US-China ties, although both governments have sought to continue on a path of engagement.
Relations are also dogged by lingering issues including China’s record trade surplus and US arms sales to Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy Beijing claims as its territory.
Beijing hasn’t yet confirmed Trump’s visit to China, though it typically announces leadership movements closer to the event.
Each of the new investigations carries a six-month deadline, with a possible three-month extension, giving Beijing a legal justification for future countermeasures and leverage ahead of any talks.
One such probe, brought separately against Mexico in September, concluded last Monday.
Beijing found the country’s tariffs on Chinese goods to be trade barriers and vowed to take measures to defend the interests of China’s firms, without specifying.
An investigation announced last Friday targets US practices that Beijing said disrupt global supply chains, covering restrictions on Chinese goods entering American markets, export controls on advanced technology and limits on bilateral investment in critical sectors.
The other action focuses specifically on what China described as American barriers to trade in green products, including restrictions on exports of Chinese renewable goods to the United States and limits on cooperation in green technology.
The Commerce Ministry said some measures in both probes may violate World Trade Organisation rules and treaties both countries have jointly signed.
The US Trade Representative (USTR) earlier this month initiated a Section 301 investigation into China and other 15 economies over alleged excess manufacturing capacity.
The following day, the USTR opened a separate investigation into 60 economies including China over a ban on imports made with forced labour.
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao last week raised “serious concerns” with Greer over the probes.
In a meeting in Cameroon, Wang cited Xi and described trade as the “ballast” of the relationship.
He urged the United States to avoid “vicious competition” and implement the consensus reached during the leaders’ previous meeting in Busan and subsequent calls. — Bloomberg
