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The ongoing trade war between the world's two largest economies has intensified over recent weeks after Washington introduced a new wave of tariffs, targeting $200 billion in Chinese imports. Beijing responded with fresh tariffs on $60 billion worth of US products exported to China. The measure comes into effect next week.
Cutting export duties for China's other trading partners is aimed at boosting domestic consumption, which is expected to bolster the slowing economy, according to people familiar with the issue, as quoted by Bloomberg. The move comes months after China reduced tariffs on a wide range of consumer goods.
China still charges a higher average tariff on imports compared to other developed economies with its most-favored nation (MFN) average tariff currently standing at 9.8 percent. MFN is a level of treatment awarded by one state to another in international trade. Along with the principle of national treatment, MFN is one of the cornerstones of WTO trade law. At the same time, the US' average applied MFN rate was 3.4 percent in 2017.
President Trump advocated more reciprocal and 'fairer' trade relations with China throughout his election campaign in 2016. Trump had repeatedly slammed Chinese companies for alleged theft of US intellectual property and accused Beijing of unfairly subsidizing them.
On Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that China is planning to further reduce the tariffs but no details on the issue were provided. Li stressed that Beijing wouldn't devalue the yuan to boost Chinese exports amid the trade war.
"We must uphold multilateralism, the rules of free trade," the Premier Li said in a speech to a World Economic Forum event. "No matter what changes are needed to the rules, it brings benefits. If there are problems, negotiation is needed to solve them."
Reader Comments
PEOPLE OF THE EARTH, PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR A GLOBAL ECONOMIC DEPRESSION, WHAT HAPPENED IN 2008 WILL BE NOTHING COMPARED TO WHATS JUST AROUND THE CORNER..
SOCIETY WILL BECOME EMPTY HOUSE, AND MILLIONS OF TENTS AND CARAVANS WILL BE SHOWING UP SOON.. NO SHIT, THIS IS SERIOUS, BUT DONT PANIC, THIS INFO YOUR NOT BEING TOLD, LOOK AT YOUR MARKETS, ITS ALL FALSE FLAGGING, ITS DEFINITELY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT THIS REALLY IS,
AND YET THESE FUCKWITS WHO RUN IN GOVERNMENT, HAVE NO IDEA OF THE CHAOS AND ANARCHY THAT WILL BECOME US ALL, AND YET, THOSE IN POWER WITH THERE EGOES BIGGER THAN THERE OWN REFLECTION ON A SUMMERS DAY STILL GET THERE HUNDRED PLUS THOUSAND PER YEAR JUST TO DECEIVE US ALL,
THE WORLDS IN DEEP SHIT, THE ISSUES THAT STARTED WW1 AND WW2 AND THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF IRAQ, LIBYA AND THE CIA RUNNING THE AFGAN OPIUM INDUSTRY ETC, ARE THE SAME HAPPENING NOW, TODAY, FALSE MEDIA REPORTS ON THE MARKETS, JOB GROWTH ETC, ITS ALL BULLSHIT,
PREPARE YOURSELVES, ITS GONNA GET REALLY UGLY!!
I LOVE CHINA, RUSSIA, AND A FEW OTHERS, I HAVE FRIENDS IN THIS COUNTRY FROM THOSE REGIONS, THERE SO FRIENDLY, HONEST AND UPFRONT,
THE USA, NEVER BEEN, DONT WANT TO VISIT A COUNTRY WHOM IS TRIGGER HAPPY AND SHOOTS THERE OWN KIND OVER A DISAGREEMENT, BUT IVE REFUSED ENTRY IN A FEW CLUBS TO SOME US SAILORS THAT VISIT HERE WHEN IN PORT, BECAUSE THEY ARE LOUD, MOSTLY PISSED, THINK THERE SHIT DOESNT STINK AND THEY EXPECT OTHERS, FOREIGN TO THEM TO KNEEL DOWN AND BOW TOO, AND YET THEY TRY TO SHAG THE LADYS HERE WHEN THEY HAVE THERE OWN WIVES AN GFS BACK IN THERE OWN HOME COUNTRY!! BLAH BLAH BLAH.. POINTLESS TO GO ON, SO...
THE SHITS ON ITS WAY, AND ITS GONNA DESTROY BIG TIME THE FAN IT WILL HIT!!