China changes strategy to face the trade war



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China applies an unusual approach in its response to the growing trade battle with the United States. He broke with the manual he used for other economic conflicts when he was looking for allies in Europe, Asia and even the United States.

Previous trade fights with Japan, France, the Philippines and more recently South Korea were accompanied by growing hostility. in the state media of China and an aggressive "diplomatic boycott" against the companies of these countries.

However, this time China has prudently ducked the US measures trying instead to present itself as an attractive investment destination, while the Donald Trump administration has continued to put pressure on product tariffs for $ 34 billion. The United States unveiled last week a new $ 200 billion list of goods that could face tariffs within two months.

China's silent response is due to the importance of its bilateral trade and US investment. .US; the economies of the countries are closely linked. "The United States has more scale, and it's a different type of economic power than Japan or Korea, which makes it unique," said economist Max Zenglein. Institute of Mercator Studies of China in Berlin



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It remains to be seen whether other countries should counterattack in retaliation

China's trade surplus with the United States limits its ability to impose retaliatory tariffs. "In its relations with the United States, it is clear that China is more vulnerable and, as a result, the Asian giant is forced to apply a different approach," he added.

With this in mind, Chinese trade negotiators, led by Liu He, focused on finding potential allies, including pro-business officials in Washington, whom they could convince with concessions to invest .

Rather than targeting US companies directly as with the supermarket chain. Korean Lotte Beijing offers better market access to its competitors. The Chinese authorities are encouraging European and Japanese companies to take advantage of a long-promised package of reforms introduced earlier this year, reminding US companies that Beijing can expand the vast Chinese market as it sees fit.

At a recent summit, $ 15 million in aid was offered to Palestinians to try to seduce Arab leaders. Even relations with Japan and South Korea have improved. Beijing refuses to tie trade dispute with Trump nuclear talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"The challenge for the Chinese is that there is not much more room for respond in terms of tariffs, "said Kellie Meiman, a trade expert at McLarty Associates in Washington.

Beijing does not want to scare foreign investors or run the risk of diminishing the investments and loans it badly needs. After criticizing Japanese companies in 2012 and those of South Korea last year, both countries adopted the strategy of deliberately diversifying their industrial bases outside of China.

Even the dollar-dollar retaliatory tariffs that China has applied, they pose some risk in Beijing because they could increase Chinese inflation.

"At first glance, China is trying to hit the United States, but in reality, the end result will be a blow to China, we choose to tax, soy, airplanes and chips, these are the products we need it most, "said Shen Dingli, an international relations expert at Shanghai Funda University.

In public, Beijing downplays the potential impact of tariffs. The news of the trade war was relegated to the internal pages of the official newspaper, Peoples Daily, several days ago. The nationalist Global Times maintained a measured tone.

Perhaps the intention is to rebadure people that China can cope with the threat. But it also reflects the widespread exposure of Chinese to the culture and social values ​​of the United States, making it much harder to attack. At least two million Chinese have studied in North America in the last 12 years. Millions of others have emigrated or are working for US companies and joint ventures in China. It is still dangerous for the ruling Communist Party to generate strong Chinese nationalism. "The United States has a big impact on China, ten times more than Korea, North America influences Chinese ideology and the Chinese economy.It affects the personal interests of many of As a result, many Chinese people would not like to speak against the United States, said Siman Pingbang, a blogger known for his leftist and nationalist views

.The Chinese even encouraged a ship carrying soybeans from the United States, while they were hurrying to reach a Chinese port before the tariffs came into effect.

Some Chinese officials, confident of the strength of Beijing, are ready to hitting However, cold blood prevails for the moment since the trade war is considered an economic problem, not a political fight or an emotional threat to the country

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