China and US in war of words as trade tensions rise

Relations between the US and China continued to deteriorate this week, with both sides exchanging fiery language as a trade war looms.

On Monday, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, described China’s trade practices as “predatory,” and mocked recent messaging from Beijing about opening-up its economy.

“Chinese leaders over these past few weeks have been claiming openness and globalisation, but it’s a joke,” Bloomberg reported Pompeo as saying. “Let’s be clear. It’s the most predatory economic government that operates against the rest of the world today. This is a problem that’s long overdue in being tackled.”

Today, China’s Commerce Ministry hit back, accusing the US of being “capricious” over bilateral trade. According to Reuters, Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng warned that US workers and farmers will be hurt by Washington’s penchant for brandishing “big sticks”.

“It is deeply regrettable that the US has been capricious, escalated the tensions, and provoked a trade war,” Gao said. “The US is accustomed to holding ‘big sticks’ for negotiations, but this approach does not apply to China.”

The rhetoric follows President Trump’s inflammatory announcement on Monday that the US is considering further tariffs on up to US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods, should Beijing pursue reciprocal measures on previous duties – a position which China equated to “blackmail.”