Business
21:43, 04-Aug-2017
Tough US proposals threaten to bring US-China trade relations to new low
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US-China trade relations may be about to get worse as the US is taking a harder line with China in trade talks. Multiple press reports indicate that the White House will launch tough new trade actions against the world’s second-largest economy.
President Donald Trump has threatened to investigate China's intellectual property and trade practices.
At the same time, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is expected to launch an investigation based on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Section 301, a popular trade tool in the 1980s that has been rarely used in the past decade, could lead to the president unilaterally slapping tariffs or other trade limits on China.
China has already labelled the measures "foul" and pledged retaliation.
The launch of the US policy comes as China's Ministry of Commerce says the two nations should resolve their disputes through communications and consultation.
Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said the Chinese government has consistently stressed the importance of protecting intellectual property, with obvious results.
Around 18,000 people were convicted on charges of intellectual property piracy and producing counterfeit products last year, according to official figures.
Authorities closed more than 200,000 accounts that were facilitating IP piracy and counterfeiting on the Internet, and disciplined about 2,000 websites.
Gao said a war between the two economies would harm both sides, while cooperation would be mutually helpful.
"Trade cooperation benefits both countries while trade wars would cause damage to each other's economies. Therefore, we should always go to dialogues and consult with each other when frictions arise," said the spokesman.
Trade between these two countries stood at 519.61 billion US dollars in 2016, a drop of 6.7 percent year on year. China remains the largest trading partner of the US.