President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the beginning of a bilateral meeting at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019.
Kevin LeMarque | Reuters
China respected the results of the US election and congratulated Donald Trump on his victory, with a state-run newspaper calling for a “pragmatic” approach to resolving bilateral differences amid the looming threat of US tariffs.
Trump, a Republican who promised tough tariffs, returned to the White House in Tuesday’s election in a landslide victory over Democrat Kamala Harris. He will take office in January.
“We respect the choice of the American people and congratulate Mr. Trump on his election as president,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement late Wednesday.
Sino-U.S. relations have been contentious for years, particularly over trade and security, including over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Trump’s victory could revive issues from his first term as president from 2017 to 2021, when he launched a trade war with the world’s second-largest economy and imposed tariffs.
China’s state-run newspaper China Daily described Trump’s second term as “a potential new beginning in Sino-U.S. relations if the opportunities provided are not squandered” in an editorial on Wednesday.
Rather than dismantling Trump’s trade policies, the Biden administration continues to target China’s state-driven industrial practices.
In September, the United States locked in substantial tariff increases on Chinese imports, including 100% tariffs on electric vehicles, 50% tariffs on solar cells, and 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum, electric vehicle batteries, and critical minerals. , to protect U.S. strategic industries.
“China Daily” stated that the next US government can strengthen dialogue and communication with China to deal with differences.
However, Trump’s threat to impose a 60% tariff on Chinese goods imported into the United States has posed major growth risks to China.
Not only are the threatened tariffs much higher than the 7.5%-25% tariffs imposed on China during Trump’s first term, but China’s economy is also in a more fragile position as it faces a sharp decline in real estate, heavy local government debt and weak domestic demand. question.
“China Daily” stated that the United States’ China policy and “misunderstanding” have brought major challenges to the relationship between the two countries.
“A pragmatic approach to bilateral relations is critical to addressing complex global challenges.”
The newspaper said that Sino-US relations are the most important bilateral relations in the world, and that properly handling Sino-US relations “not only serves the common interests of both countries, but will also inject more certainty and stability into the world.”
