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The global value chain will be seriously damaged if the United States insists on a unilateral approach in dealing with a trade spat with China, former Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said on Monday.
The 2018 edition of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), also known as Asia's Davos, has drawn widespread media attention ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the opening ceremony of this year's conference.
The world economy, which is gradually recovering from a weak performance in the past 10 years, demands stability instead of trade conflict between the two largest economies, experts said at the opening day of Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018.
By continually raising the stakes in its trade dispute with China, the United States is no doubt hoping Beijing will fold, but that is a losing bet, China Daily said in an editorial over the weekend.
As U.S. President Donald Trump initiated the tariffs offensive on steel and aluminum in March and planned more on its imports from China, experts and officials have noted that the U.S. move is in violation of the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s principles and would harmed U.S. economy itself.
The war of words between U.S. and China has escalated rapidly over the last few days. On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump upped the ante in the trade battle with China, suggesting further tariffs on $100 bln of imported goods from China.
Over a year ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping vigorously defended free trade at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, impressing the world with China's staunch support for globalization.
Concerns are mounting in South Korea over the U.S. administration's protectionist moves that have stoked trade friction with China and could trigger a trade war between the world's top two economies in the worse-case scenario.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the recent trade measures by the United States will "inevitably affect its relations with China and other countries," and a trade war does no good to any country.
China's power generation rose 10 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2018 to 1.57 trillion kilowatt-hours, the top economic planner said Sunday.
