China urges US restraint in using trade protection tools

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China’s foreign ministry said Friday that following the example of the United States will harm global trade, and China urged the US to exercise restraint in using trade protection tools.

Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comment at a regular news briefing after US President Donald Trump said he would impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to protect US producers.

Hua added that global economic recovery has been sluggish and steel industries across the world are facing difficulties. Therefore, all countries should cooperate to explore the ways out, rather than unilaterally carry out trade restrictions. “China urged the US to comply with multilateral trade rules and make a positive contribution to international economic and trade order,” said Hua.

On Thursday, Hua cited MOFCOM (China’s Ministry of Commerce) official Wang Hejun’s remarks by saying that the US’s irrational and overuse of trade protectionism policies will fail to achieve the "rejuvenation" of relevant domestic industries in the US. On the contrary, it will affect the employment in the US and undermine the welfare of the vast number of the country's consumers.

Hua also said that senior Chinese official Liu He, who's now in the US for a visit at the invitation of the US government, had constructive and frank exchanges on major bilateral economic issues with senior US officials, including US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn in Washington on Thursday, which created the necessary conditions to further deepen cooperation.