China pledges to react to the trade war that she did not want

The Chinese ambassador to the United States said Beijing had no choice but to react to what he described as a US-led trade war.

"We never wanted a trade war, but if someone starts a trade war against us, we must react and defend our own interests," Ambassador Cui Tiankai told Fox News Sunday. in a rare appearance on American television.

His comments come against a backdrop of growing political and economic tension between the world's two largest economies and when international agencies and other countries have warned that global growth will suffer if the dispute is not resolved.

Cui also described as "unfounded" a suggestion by Vice President Mike Pence that China would have orchestrated an effort to interfere in the US's home affairs.

In a speech on Oct. 4, Pence resumed rhetoric, saying Beijing had created a "whole-of-government approach" to influence American public opinion, including spies, tariffs, coercive measures and a campaign propaganda.

His comments were among the most critical about China by a senior US official of recent memory. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo heard a lecture during a visit to Beijing a few days later about US equities described as "completely out of the ordinary".

Hard words followed months of rising exorbitant tariffs imposed by Washington and Beijing, which exploded to cover hundreds of billions of dollars in bilateral trade.

Outlook downgrade

Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund discussed the trade dispute by reducing its global growth outlook to 3.7% this year and next, down from the expected 3.9% three years ago. month. The forecast growth in the United States in 2019 was estimated at 2.5%, compared to 2.9% this year.

"There are clouds on the horizon," IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld told reporters on October 9 at the organization's annual meeting in Bali, Indonesia . "Growth has turned out to be less balanced than we had hoped."

At the end of these meetings, finance officials from several countries, including Japan and Brazil, called on the countries in conflict to conclude a comprehensive agreement on trade issues.

"Our message was very clear: to defuse the tensions," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told Bloomberg Television. Trade disputes create "unstable" waters for the global economy, she said.

At the same meetings, the Chinese authorities received an unusual gesture of support when the former President of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo, advised them to follow the example of Mexico and Canada during their renegotiations with the states. States on the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"Mexico and Canada have made it clear that they would rather not have a Nafta than benefit from the agreement that the United States wanted," Zedillo said. "So I hope China does not blink."

Read more: Global finance chiefs call for a solution to the trade war

In a recent interview with National Public Radio, Cui said the United States had "not sufficiently" treated China's trade relations in good faith, saying: "The US position does not keeps changing, so we do not know exactly what they would do, want as priorities. "

Escalating trade was seen as a factor contributing to the global market outburst last week, which pushed the S & P 500 and other major US indexes to their worst performance for months.

Larry Kudlow, director of the White House, told Fox News Sunday that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would likely meet at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires in late November. "There are plans, discussions and agendas" under discussion, he said.

Cui said he was present at the previous two meetings of Xi and Trump, and that communication at the highest level "played a key role, an irreplaceable role in the direction of the relationship." Despite the current tensions, they maintain a "good working relationship". he said.

Until now, trade talks with China have been "unsatisfactory," Kudlow said. "We have made our demands" on allegations of theft of intellectual property and forced technology transfers, he added. "We must have reciprocity."