Beijing: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun posted on his Facebook page a screen saving showing the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all declining by more than 5 per cent Friday, with the commentary, “The market has spoken.”
“The trade and tariff war started by the US against the world is unprovoked and unjustified,” Guo wrote. “Now is the time for the US to stop doing the wrong things and resolve the differences with trading partners through equal-footed consultation.”
US President Donald Trump’s big raise in tariffs has triggered an escalating trade war and sent global markets plummeting.
The S&P 500 fell 6 per cent Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 5.5 per cent and the Nasdaq composite dropped 5.8 per cent.
China announced Friday that it will impose a 34 per cent tax on all US imports next week, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures to Trump’s new tariffs.
China lashes out at US over tariffs, calling it a weapon to seek private interests
China on Saturday night heaped more criticism on the US tariffs, saying they had “seriously infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, seriously violated the rules of the World Trade Organisation, seriously damaged the rules-based multilateral trading system, and severely impacted the stability of the global economic order.”
The US “uses tariffs as a weapon to exert extreme pressure and seek private interests. This is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying,” said the statement, attributed to the Chinese government and carried by the official Xinhua News Agency.
“The Chinese people believe in treating others with sincerity and taking trust as the basis. We do not provoke trouble, but we are not afraid of trouble. Pressure and threats are not the right way to deal with China. China has and will continue to take firm measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests,” the statement said.
It said China would continue to promote “high-level opening-up” rather than closing its economy with even higher tariffs.
“Economic globalisation is the inevitable path for the development of human society,” it said.
AP
