China-US Trade Frictions: A look back at key events amid ongoing talks

World
Europe

02:08

Vice Premier Liu's trip to Washington aims to avert a trade war between the world's two largest economies. It's the latest move in a dispute that's escalated dramatically within a short stretch of time. Owen Fairclough looks at the key events.

OWEN FAIRCLOUGH WASHINGTON DC "Trade disputes are often protracted and dull. But not with Donald Trump in the White House. In just weeks, he's brought the US and China to the brink of a trade war. So how did it all begin."

In early March Trump threatened steep tariffs against his country's largest trade partners-including the largest, China.

Donald Trump, U.S President: "I'm defending America's national security by placing tariffs on foreign imports of steel and aluminum. We will have a 25% tariff on foreign steel and a 10% tariff on foreign aluminum, when the product comes across our borders."

That was followed by plans to slap duties on 50 billion dollars' worth of Chinese imports retaliation for complaints that US companies are forced to give Chinese partners their trade secrets.

China has threatened retaliatory tariffs, though President Xi Jinping has struck a different tone from Trump.

XI JINPING CHINESE PRESIDENT "I want to tell everyone clearly, that the door of China's opening up will not close. It will only open wider and wider."

Trade delegations have since shuttled back and forth between Beijing and Washington as Trump threatens an additional 100 billion dollars in tariffs, partly to reduce the growing trade imbalance between China and the U.S.

There's no date for when those additional tariffs may be imposed, though they would follow a two-month consultation period.

It's difficult to know how or where all this will end, partly because Trump is locked in trade disputes with major US trading partners such as Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

OWEN FAIRCLOUGH WASHINGTON DC "And his battle with China is perhaps the most complex. He wants to protect American jobs while simultaneously looking after workers at Chinese telecom company, ZTE. Its survival is endangered by a separate dispute over US sanctions. Owen Fairclough, CGTN, Washington."