China claims that the US has “seriously breached” their trade agreement and intends to implement strong measures to protect its interests.
The Ministry of Commerce in China stated that Washington has “significantly undermined” the pact established during discussions in Geneva last month, where both nations agreed to reduce tariffs on goods imported from one another.
The spokesperson further noted that the actions of the US have also greatly violated the consensus achieved during a phone conversation in January between China’s leader, Xi Jinping, and President Donald Trump.
These remarks follow Trump’s statement on Friday, asserting that China had “completely violated its agreement with us”.
While the US President did not provide specifics, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer later indicated that China had failed to eliminate non-tariff barriers as stipulated in the agreement.
As part of the trade truce established in May during a meeting in Geneva, the US reduced tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China’s retaliatory tariffs on US products decreased from 125% to 10%.
On Monday, Beijing pointed out that US breaches of the agreement included halting the sale of computer chip design software to Chinese firms, cautioning against the use of chips produced by the Chinese tech giant Huawei, and revoking visas for Chinese students.
The deal reached in Geneva surprised many analysts, as it appeared that the two parties were significantly distant on numerous trade matters.
This demonstrated that through direct negotiations, Washington and Beijing can achieve agreements.
However, as tensions rise once more, the vulnerability of the current truce has been underscored, indicating the difficulties that lie ahead in securing a long-term trade deal.
Despite the new allegations suggesting that discussions between Washington and Beijing are faltering, two senior White House officials hinted on Sunday that Trump and Xi might engage in talks soon.
Source: HotFmOnline.com
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