Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Foreign Investment in China Not Affected by US Tariffs: Beijing
Tue May 21, 2019 01:52PM
presstv.ir

This photo, taken on May 14, 2019, shows a customer browsing imported items at a store in the Qingdao free trade port area in Qingdao in China. (By AFP)

Beijing says foreign investors remain enthusiastic about the Chinese market, contrary to a claim by the administration of US President Donald Trump that American tariffs are causing companies to move production out of the world’s second-largest economy.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang, responding to a question about Trump’s claim, said at a daily news briefing in Beijing on Tuesday that China would continue to improve business and investment conditions for foreign companies.

“Even though over the past year or more the United States has continued to menace Chinese products with additional tariffs, everyone can see that the enthusiasm for foreign investors in China remains high,” Lu said.

The spokesman listed companies, including Tesla, BASF and BMW, as all having recently increased their investment in China.

Trump said in an interview aired on Sunday that his tariffs on Chinese goods were causing companies to move manufacturing out of China and to Vietnam and other Asian countries.

The Washington-Beijing trade dispute escalated last Friday, when the US increased tariffs on 200 billion dollars’ worth of Chinese goods. Trump has also ordered US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to begin imposing tariffs on all remaining imports from China, a move that would affect about an additional 300 billion dollars’ worth of goods.

China and the US earlier this month concluded the 11th round of their high-level economic and trade consultations in Washington without reaching any deal aimed at ending their trade tensions.

No further trade talks have been scheduled since the last round ended on May 10 — the same day Trump raised the tariff rate on Chinese products from 10% to 25%.

Trump has urged China to either sign a deal now or it will be forced to sign a far worse agreement in the future.

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