China’s ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, on Saturday urged peaceful coexistence between the two countries, warning that Beijing was ready to retaliate if necessary in the ongoing trade war.
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During a public event in Washington, Xie Feng said, “A good traditional Chinese medicine recipe usually combines many different ingredients which reinforce one another and create the best medical effect.”
He added, “Likewise, the earth is big enough to accommodate both China and the US. We should pursue peaceful coexistence rather than collide head-on, and help each other succeed rather than get caught in a lose-lose scenario.”
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He stated that a trade war between the countries would ruin the global economic situation, comparing it to the Great Depression and tariffs imposed by the US in 1930.
Xie Feng also said that China opposed the trade war and would retaliate against any country imposing tariffs on it.
US-China trade war
US President Donald Trump announced 245 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports, escalating the trade conflict between the two countries.
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China has also retaliated with duties of 125 per cent on the US and has also filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization.
Donald Trump on Friday stated that talks were underway with top Chinese officials. “By the way, we have nice conversations going with China. It’s, like, really very good.”
On Thursday, he said regarding the increasing tariffs, as quoted by Bloomberg, “At a certain point, I don’t want them to go higher because at a certain point, you make it where people don’t buy. So I may not want to go higher, or I may not want to even go up to that level. I may want to go to less because, you know, you want people to buy.”