China paper: Beijing won't play just defense in trade war with US

A widely read Chinese newspaper says China will not be content only to play defense in an escalating trade war with the administration of US President Donald Trump.

The Global Times, China's state-run paper which is affiliated to the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily, wrote in an editorial on Monday that the US was creating further tensions in the trade war dispute between Beijing and Washington as leverage against China.

"It is nothing new for the US to try to escalate tensions so as to exploit more gains at the negotiating table," the column said.

"We are looking forward to a more beautiful counter-attack and will keep increasing the pain felt by the US," it added. 

Meanwhile, Lou Jiwei, former finance minister and chairman of the National Council for Social Security Fund, told a Beijing forum on Sunday that besides retaliating with tariffs, China could also restrict export of goods, raw materials and components core to US manufacturing supply chains.

China is a key supplier of minor metals and rare earths used in consumer electronics and other goods.

However, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang has reiterated that the escalation of the trade conflict was not in anyone's interest.

"We have always maintained that the only correct means to resolve the trade dispute is through dialog and consultation on an equal basis with mutual trust and respect," Geng told a recent regular news briefing.

Last week, the US Treasury Department invited senior Chinese officials, including Vice Premier Liu He, to more talks on the tariff dispute.

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The Wall Street Journal, citing Chinese officials, reported on Sunday that Beijing may decline to participate in the proposed trade talks with Washington later this month if the Trump administration goes ahead with additional tariffs. One senior Chinese advisory official told the journal that China would not negotiate "with a gun pointed to its head."

The developments come as the US and China have been locked in a trade battle, imposing tit-for-tat tariffs on each other. In his latest move, Trump reportedly approved tariffs of another $200 million on Chinese goods which could come as early as this week.

In early Monday tweets, Trump said imposing tariffs strengthened the US’s bargaining position and that so far any cost increases on goods had been "almost unnoticeable."

"If countries will not make fair deals with us, they will be 'Tariffed!'" Trump wrote.

The US and China have already levied duties on $50 billion worth of each other's goods in an intensifying row that has jolted global financial markets in the past few months.

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The remarks come after Trump warned he was ready to slap tariffs on virtually all Chinese imports into the United States.

Trump has also demanded that China cut its $375 billion trade surplus with the US. He also wants China to end policies aimed at acquiring US technologies and intellectual property, and roll back high-tech industrial subsidies.

Trump has said he will no longer allow China to take advantage of the US on trade

Beijing has said it would retaliate to trade war escalation with tariffs of its own as well as qualitative measures, which are perceived within the US business community as likely to include increased customs and regulatory scrutiny.

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