China accuses US of “trade bullyism” as new tariffs are exchanged

China has released a white paper in which the US is described as engaging in “trade bullyism practices,” Xinhua reports.

The official document, which seeks to “clarify the facts about China-US economic and trade relations, demonstrate its stance on trade friction with the United States, and pursue reasonable solutions,” was released today – the day that new US tariffs on Chinese imports came into effect.

US duties on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods were enforced on Monday, prompting China to begin collecting reciprocal duties the same day, the BBC reports.

According to CNN, the goods targeted by the US span thousands of products, including food seasonings, baseball gloves, network routers and industrial machinery parts.

China retaliated immediately with new taxes on goods such as meat, chemicals, clothes and auto parts.

The new white paper, which runs to 36,000 Chinese characters, excluding the foreword, does not hold back. One passage states that the US has “brazenly preached unilateralism, protectionism and economic hegemony, making false accusations against many countries and regions, particularly China, intimidating other countries through economic measures such as imposing tariffs, and attempting to impose its own interests on China through extreme pressure.”

The development will dampen any hopes for an early conclusion to the trade war. With the white paper indicating that China is digging-in, Washington threatening blanket tariffs on all Chinese imports, and the next round of trade talks now cancelled, relations seem brittle at best.