On Friday, China said that The USmust show sincerity if it is to hold meaningful trade talks. This comes after the stakes were dramatically raised by Donald Trump with a blow to the Chinese tech giant, Huawei.
China is yet to make a statement on how it will retaliate against the latest events that culminate the trade tension between her and the United States of America. However, the state media has taken a more persuasive tone as the China’s Ruling Party’s newspaper, People’s Daily published a front-page commentary that evoked the patriotic spirit of past wars.
China’s currency became the weakest it has been in about five months, although losses were capped after sources told Reuters that the central bank would ensure the yuan did not weaken past the key 7-per-dollar level in the immediate term.
Two of the world’s largest economies are locked in an increasingly bitter “trade war” that has seen them increase tarrifs on each other’s imports.
Lu Kang the spokesman for the foreign ministry when asked about rports suggesting that there would be no more trade talks between US and China, said that China has always wanted to find an amicable end to the dispute through dialogue and consultations.
“But because of certain things the U.S. side has done during the previous China-U.S. trade consultations, we believe if there is meaning for these talks, there must be a show of sincerity,” he told a daily news briefing.
Lu said, without elaborating, that The US should observe the principle of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit.
On Thursday, an executive order was signed in Washington that put Chinese Technological company, Huawei Technologies on an exclusive list that would make it difficult for them to have any business dealings with US companies.
This followed the May 5 decision by Trump to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. A heavy escalation though both sides seem to be reaching a deal that would potentially end their “trade war”.
A Chines official with a considerable amount of knowledge on the situation said “China can be expected to make preparations for a longer-term trade war with the United States. Indeed, this is an important moment, but not an existential, live-or-die moment,”
“In the short term, the trade situation between China and the United States will be severe, and there will be challenges. Neither will it be smooth in the long run. This will spur China to make adequate preparations in the long term.”
Meng Wei, a spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC), told a media briefing that The impact of trade friction on China’s economy is “controllable”.
In related news, Huawei’s Hisilicon unit, which purchases U.S semi-conductors for its parent said that it has been making prepartions.
The president of this company said in a letter released to staff on Friday that the company had been secretly developing back-up products for years in case Huawei was one day unable to obtain the advanced chips and technology it buys from the United States.
“Today, the wheel of destiny has turned and we have arrived at this extreme and dark moment, as a super-nation ruthlessly disrupts the world’s technology and industry system,” the company president said in the letter.
The letter was largely circulated on Chinese social media. It gained about 180 million impressions within the few hours it was published on Weibo.
“Go Huawei! Our country’s people will always support you,” wrote one Weibo user after reading the letter.