President Xi Jinping vowed to reduce auto tax imports, open China’s markets and significantly improve conditions for foreign companies to own businesses in China on a speech Tuesday morning that emphasized his pledge for international co-operation in the face of Trump’s “America First” policies.
Xi tried to position China as the global leader in trade while making a speech at Boao Forum for Asia in the southern province of Hainan as he called for less restrictions on trade and overhauling trade deals to make them more favorable for US.
He said that China will take definite measures to open up the economy further and liberalize automobile investment, reduce tariffs on cars this year and protect intellectual property; items high on the US list of demands from China.
Xi also pledged that China is embarking on a “new phase of opening up”, promote equality in trade and ensured that Beijing “does not seek a trade surplus”.
“Economic globalization is an irreversible trend of the time,” Xi told the Boao Forum for Asia.
“The door of China's opening up will not close, it will only open wider and wider.”
Xi's speech comes after a series of tariffs imposed by the two countries on each other, US President also hinted a few days back that he saw an end to the trade dispute, which has included tit-for-tat tariffs and threats for more punishing duties by both nations.
“President Xi and I will always be friends,” Trump tweeted on Sunday.
“China will take down its trade barriers because it is the right thing to do.”
Xi, however, made no direct mention of his American counterpart, Donald Trump, or even the ongoing spat with the US. But he did mention the key themes that have been irritants for US such as opening up China’s financial sector, and protection of intellectual property rights among others.
But Trump on Monday continued his diatribe against Chinese tariffs on car imports, drawing criticism from Chinese foreign ministry in US which warned that trade talks with the United States were “impossible” under current conditions.
“When a car is sent to the United States from China, there is a Tariff to be paid of 2 1/2%. When a car is sent to China from the United States, there is a Tariff to be paid of 25%,” Trump tweeted.
“Does that sound like free or fair trade? No, it sounds like STUPID TRADE — going on for years!” wrote Mr. Trump while using his twitter account.
