New US $200bn tariffs on China will not work, Chinese securities regulator says

China has ample fiscal and monetary policy tools to counter US trade action

In this Aug. 29, 2018, photo, a man works in an auto parts factory in Liaocheng in eastern China's Shandong province. The Trump administration announced Monday, Sept. 17, 2018, that it will impose tariffs on $200 billion more in Chinese goods starting next week, escalating a trade war between the world's two biggest economies and potentially raising prices on goods ranging from handbags to bicycle tires. (Chinatopix via AP)

A worker at auto parts factory in eastern China's Shandong province. The Trump administration has announced, that it will impose tariffs on $200bn more in Chinese goods starting next week. Chinatopix via AP

Reuters

Sep 18, 2018

The United State’s trade actions against China will not work as China has ample fiscal and monetary policy tools to cope with the impact, a senior securities market official said.

Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said at a conference in Tianjin that he hopes the two sides can sit down and negotiate on trade and that he looks forward to good China-US trade relations over the long term.

“President Trump is a hard-hitting businessman, and he tries to put pressure on China so he can get concessions from our negotiations. I think that kind of tactic is not going to work with China.”

President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with China on Monday, imposing 10 per cent tariffs on about $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.

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The tariffs on the $200bn list will start on September 24, according to a senior US administration official.

Mr Trump also threatened to “immediately pursue” tariffs on another $267bn of imports if China retaliates.

“If he puts tariffs on all Chinese exports to the United States - which he says he will - even in that scenario, the negative impact on China’s economy is about 0.7 per cent,” Mr Fang said. He did not specify on whether he was referring to the impact on the amount of gross domestic product or the growth rate of GDP.

The US has “poisoned” the atmosphere for negotiations, Mr Fang said, but added that the two sides can talk about how to cut the US trade deficit with China.

Vice Premier Liu He is set to convene a meeting in Beijing on Tuesday morning to discuss the government’s response to the US decision, Bloomberg News reported.

The Chinese government may decline to participate in proposed trade talks with the United States later this month if the Trump administration moves forward with additional tariffs on imported Chinese goods, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.