China is totally prepared for any US actions related to trade tariffs and duties, a spokesman for the Chinese Commerce Ministry, Gao Feng said on Thursday
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th May, 2019) China is totally prepared for any US actions related to trade tariffs and duties, a spokesman for the Chinese Commerce Ministry, Gao Feng said on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump announced on May 5 that Washington would raise tariffs on Friday to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion of Chinese goods, while on May 6 he said that the United States had been losing billions of Dollars to China on trade, pledging to reverse the situation.
"We hope that the US side will meet us halfway, take into account the interests of each other and solve the existing problems thorough cooperation and consultations. At the same time, the Chinese side is fully prepared for all possible actions," Gao said at a briefing.
The officials of the United States and China are set to meet in Washington on Thursday for a final round of trade negotiations with hopes of avoiding a looming tariff hike. The US president said on Wednesday that China was trying to make a deal, but should the talks fall apart, the United States would be more than happy to fill its coffers with billions of dollars generated from duties levied on Chinese goods.
The spokesman stressed that the Chinese delegation's visit to the United States for the next round of consultations on trade issues demonstrates Beijing's responsible approach and sincere desire to help advance the negotiations.
China have been in a trade dispute since last June when Trump announced the imposition of 25 percent tariffs on Chinese goods worth of $50 billion in a bid to fix the US-Chinese trade deficit, which was one of the pledges during the 2016 campaign.
Though the two countries are trying to negotiate a new trade deal, they have since exchanged several rounds of trade tariffs.
