China’s Xi Promises to Lower Tariffs, Raise Imports to Cool Down Trade War
“With the deepening development today of economic globalization, ‘the weak falling prey to the strong’ and ‘winner takes all’ are dead-end alleys.”
Chinese President Xi Jingping announced at the large China International Import Expo (CIIE) that he will lower tariffs and increase imports as a way to “demonstrate goodwill amid mounting frictions with the United States and others.”
While this appears like a good thing, Xi has made these promises before.
Reuters reported:
In a speech that largely echoed previous promises, Xi said China would accelerate opening of the education, telecommunications and cultural sectors, while protecting foreign companies’ interests and punishing violations of intellectual property rights.
He also said he expects China to import $30 trillion worth of goods and $10 trillion worth of services in the next 15 years. Last year, Xi estimated that China would import $24 trillion worth of goods over the coming 15 years.
“CIIE is a major initiative by China to pro-actively open up its market to the world,” Xi said.
In 2015, Xi promised “that China would buy $10 trillion in goods from other countries over a five-year period.”
Reuters noted that even though foreign business groups have hammered President Donald Trump over tariffs thrown at China, they have also “grown weary of Chinese reform promises” and knew retaliation would come “if it didn’t match the openness of its trading partners.
The Wall Street Journal described these trade deficits with China as a “lightning rod.” The situation has only grown worse every year due to “unfulfilled promises of market access for American dairy farmers, financial advisors, internet firms and other companies.” Trump included those broken promises as reasons why he placed tariffs on imported Chinese products valued at $250 billion.
Xi continued:
He said “multilateralism and the free trade system is under attack, factors of instability and uncertainty are numerous, and risks and obstacles are increasing”.
“With the deepening development today of economic globalization, ‘the weak falling prey to the strong’ and ‘winner takes all’ are dead-end alleys,” he said.
Kenneth Jarrett, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, stated that Xi’s “rhetoric alone won’t be sufficient.”
The speech didn’t impress Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics, because it lacked “path-breaking new reforms.” He interpreted the speech “as a confirmation that China is very keen to be seen as continuing to open up further and committing to that stance.”
Reuters has China’s import numbers:
China imported $1.84 trillion of goods in 2017, up 16 percent, or $255 billion, from a year earlier. Of that total, China imported about $130 billion of goods from the United States. The Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said in March that China would import $8 trillion of goods in the next five years.
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Comments
Once again, amazing what can happen when you get on the field and make the other team play for the win
Instead of spinning a narrative that throwing the game was the only way to win it.
My prediction is that the only waves will be at district attorneys’ offices all across the nation, if the news stories at NBC via Drudge are accurate.
What could go wrong?…Anything you can think of. Read it and weep.
“China imported $1.84 trillion of goods in 2017, up 16 percent, or $255 billion, from a year earlier. Of that total, China imported about $130 billion of goods from the United States. The Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said in March that China would import $8 trillion of goods in the next five years.”
Amazing when you have economic morons who can’t do simple math, or think logically.
If the Chinese import at the rate of last year, that will be OVER 9 billion dollars in trade over 5 years. So “8 billion” promises are NBFD.
If you are one of the American companies that sold more than $130 billion goods imported to China last year, you’d likely want to continue that trade. So would your employees and everyone connected with your business.
But China doesn’t have to import from the US. It can boost its trade with all the rest of the world.
Oh, and the winners of lowered Chinese tariffs? The Chinese primarily. Just like Americans would be the primary beneficiaries of lowered stupid American tariffs.
Rags: “morons who can’t do simple math, or think logically”
Meh. My father laughed about how lawyers always thought they knew everything about everything. And your economic analysis always sounds like you scanned wiki.
And consider the source. You went hysterical because you thought I literally have adamantium claws. Like Wolverine.
Here’s some critical thinking not provided by the Sally Struthers School of Law: you are not in any danger from me. Because we have been going at each other for over a year – if you disappear under suspicious circumstances, they will check me out.
That’s why I use squirrels. They all look alike.
Stupid. Vacant. As always.
You’re so weak, you’re funny.
Awww. Did Orange Man make you look bad? Or is that pouty face because you lost again last night? Odd how you are always happy when we are sad and sad when we win again.
“If you want to read the Cuck Leaves — a friend points out the cucks are being nastier, pissier, and even more menstrual than usual, which seems to indicate they think they’ve failed in their second-time-in-a-row effort to win an election for progressive hard-left Democrats while claiming to be defenders of True Conservatism (TM).” – Ace
Maybe one of the ladies can find you a tampon.
Nothing on point. Just moronic name-calling.
Stupid. Vacant. As always.
You’re so weak, you’re funny.
The tariffs are explicit and implicit: labor, environmental, and monetary arbitrage. Still, baby steps. Equitable trade is good for natives at both ends of the bridge.
“Xi.”
Isn’t that the new gender neutral pronoun?
Ahhhh… Gender Delusion meets Cultural Appropriation.
Everyone step back. This is going to be like that time Calvin divided by zero.
Sorry.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/xe