China says it is willing to talk with US to push forward bilateral trade

BEIJING — China is willing to conduct active dialogue with the United States based on the principles of mutual respect and promote the development of bilateral economic and trade relations, vice commerce minister Wang Shouwen said on Friday (Nov 22).

Wang, also China's International Trade Representative, said China would be able to "resolve and resist" the impact of external shocks, responding to a question about the impact of potential tariffs from US President-elect Donald Trump.

"We believe that China and the US can maintain a stable, healthy, and sustainable development trend in economic and trade relations," Wang said at a press conference in Beijing.

China is also willing to "expand areas of co-operation and manage differences" with the US, Wang said.

With Trump's threat to impose tariffs in excess of 60 per cent on all Chinese goods, which has rattled Chinese manufacturers and accelerated factory relocation to Southeast Asia and other regions, Chinese exporters are bracing for any trade disruptions.

Economists polled by Reuters believe the United States could impose nearly 40 per cent tariffs on imports from China early next year, potentially slicing growth in the world's second-biggest economy by up to one percentage point.

Chinese authorities on Thursday announced a series of policy measures aimed at boosting foreign trade, including pledging to strengthen financing support to firms and expand exports of agricultural products.

The trade turmoil of Trump's first presidency will also bring impacts on the Chinese yuan. The yuan rallied 10 per cent through the first 18 months before sliding about 12 per cent through his imposition of tariffs and the pandemic.

"Our basic judgment is that the yuan exchange rate will remain basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level," said Liu Ye, an official from China's central bank said at the same press conference.

The central bank will "maintain the flexibility of yuan while strengthening guidance on expectations to prevent the market from forming one-sided views expectations," she added.

The bank will also resolutely guard against the risk of exchange rate overshooting and keep yuan stable at a reasonable and balanced level, according to Liu.

Chinese firms are squirreling away even more dollars, pricing contracts in yuan and opening import lines to mitigate currency risks, Reuters reported on Friday.

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