Beijing sought to play down tensions with the United States and put on a positive face on Friday as the U.S. administration slammed China on a range of business issues ahead of President Xi Jinping's first meeting with President Donald Trump.
Trump set the tone for what could be a tense meeting at his Mar-a-Lago retreat next week by tweeting on Thursday that the United States could no longer tolerate massive trade deficits and job losses.
Trump said the highly anticipated meeting, which is also expected to cover differences over North Korea and China's strategic ambitions in the South China Sea, "will be a very difficult one."
Ahead of the meeting, Trump signed executive orders on Friday aimed at identifying abuses that are causing massive U.S. trade deficits and clamping down on non-payment of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imports, his top trade officials said.
Separately, the U.S. Trade Representative's office, which is controlled by the White House, said Beijing's industrial policies and financial support for industries such as steel and aluminium have resulted in over-production and a flood of exports that have distorted global markets and undermined competitive companies.
Seeking to downplay the rift, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang reiterated a desire for cooperation on trade.
"With regard to the problems existing between China and the United States in trade relations, both sides should in a mutual respectful and mutual beneficial way find appropriate resolutions, and ensure the stable development of Sino-U.S. trade relations," he told a daily news briefing.
The leaders of the world's two largest economies are scheduled to meet next Thursday and Friday for the first time since Trump assumed office on Jan. 20.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the United States has "serious concerns" on the U.S. trade relationship with China.
"This isn't a sit around and play patty-cake kind of conversation," he told reporters. "They're big issues."
Trump "wants to have a very good and respectful and healthy relationship, but he also wants to make sure that he tackles the challenges and the problems that are facing American workers," Spicer said.
Speaking earlier at a briefing on the Xi-Trump meeting, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang acknowledged the trade imbalance, but said it was mostly due to differences in their two economic structures and noted that China had a trade deficit in services.
"China does not deliberately seek a trade surplus. We also have no intention of carrying out competitive currency devaluation to stimulate exports. This is not our policy," Zheng said.
CONCILIATORY TONE
State news agency Xinhua also struck a conciliatory tone.
"Of course, it would be naive to believe that the two sides can bridge their differences in a single diplomatic meeting," it said in an English language commentary on Friday.
"Yet as long as the two nations can maintain their good faith, which they have shown recently, to talk and to make concessions based on mutual respect, then no difference would be too difficult to iron out."
Trump has frequently accused China of keeping its yuan currency artificially low against the dollar to make Chinese exports cheaper, and "stealing" American manufacturing jobs.
The yuan fell 6.5 percent last year in its biggest annual loss against the dollar since 1994, knocked by pressure from sluggish economic growth and a broadly strong U.S. currency.
Trump has resisted acting on a campaign promise to declare China a currency manipulator on his first day in office, but tensions have persisted over how his administration's China policy would evolve.
While apprehensive about a trade war, the American business community in China has grown more vocal.
Fear of retaliation had once made business lobbies eschew more forceful U.S. trade policies toward China, but such groups have increasingly urged the Trump administration to take targeted action to address market access imbalances.
Zheng said domestic consumption in China will increase as it pursues economic reforms, helping to raise demand for foreign goods and services, including those from the United States.
"This also helps ameliorate the trade imbalance between China and the United States," he said.
The trade imbalance could be resolved by improved cooperation, Zheng said, urging Washington to lift restrictions on civilian technology exports to China and create better conditions for Chinese investment in the United States.
The USTR report, however, accused China of using a range of measures to engineer the transfer of foreign technology to local firms. It said these include denying financial or regulatory approvals to companies using foreign-owned intellectual property or that do not conduct research or make products in China.
The report also brought up longstanding complaints about online piracy of movies, books, music, video games and software in China as well as a ban on U.S. beef that has been in place since 2003.
Reuters
Sat Apr 01 2017
A combination of file photos showing Xi Jinping at London's Heathrow Airport, Oct 19, 2015 and Donald Trump posing for a photo in New York City, May 17, 2016. REUTERS/File
Risiko konflik jejaskan jumlah kapal, pelayaran lebih lama pada separuh tahun pertama
Laluan Tanjung Harapan di Afrika menokok 4,000 batu kepada jarak pelayaran dan tambahan dua minggu masa transit.
Trafik internet Malaysia meningkat enam peratus pada suku pertama 2024 - Cloudflare
Malaysia catat peningkatan trafik internet keseluruhan sebanyak enam peratus pada suku pertama 2024 daripada suku keempat 2023.
Detik 100 hari ke Olimpik Paris, prospek negara masih samar
Genap 100 hari, atlet elit dari seluruh dunia dan ratusan ribu peminat sukan bakal berkumpul di Sungai Seine, Paris untuk upacara perasmian Sukan Olimpik 2024.
Gempa kuat bermagnitud 6.3 landa Jepun - MetMalaysia
Satu gempa bumi kuat bermagnitud 6.3 dikesan di Shikoku, Jepun pada 10.14 malam tadi.
Thailand, New Zealand tingkat hubungan dua hala
Thailand dan New Zealand bersetuju meningkatkan hubungan dua hala mereka kepada perkongsian strategik menjelang 2026.
Ia sekaligus menandakan langkah penting ke hadapan dalam kerjasama kedua-dua negara yang telah lama terjalin.
Ia sekaligus menandakan langkah penting ke hadapan dalam kerjasama kedua-dua negara yang telah lama terjalin.
Penumpang HSR Jakarta-Bandung cecah 2.56 juta orang
Pada masa ini, perjalanan kereta api harian kereta api itu telah meningkat daripada 14 kepada 52 dan bilangan tempat duduk penumpang melonjak daripada 8,400 kepada lebih 31,000.
Antara pembangunan, pilihan manusia & kesihatan planet
Antara pembangunan, pilihan manusia, dan kesihatan planet.
dilema yang menjadi cabaran utama buat mana-mana negara untuk keluar dari kepompong kemunduran.
Hari kedua Sidang Kemuncak Kesihatan Planet (PHAM 2024) dan mesyuarat tahunan ke-6 antaranya mengangkat topik berkaitan kecerdasan buatan (AI) yang masih menjadi perdebatan kalangan pakar.
dilema yang menjadi cabaran utama buat mana-mana negara untuk keluar dari kepompong kemunduran.
Hari kedua Sidang Kemuncak Kesihatan Planet (PHAM 2024) dan mesyuarat tahunan ke-6 antaranya mengangkat topik berkaitan kecerdasan buatan (AI) yang masih menjadi perdebatan kalangan pakar.
KKR beri jaminan projek Kolam Selam Tempur siap Jun ini - Nanta
Kementerian Kerja Raya (KKR) akan memastikan projek pembinaan Kolam Selam Tempur di Kem Iskandar, Mersing, Johor yang mengalami kelewatan, siap sepenuhnya pada Jun ini.
Pemilihan MIC bermula 27 April ini
MIC akan mengadakan pemilihan parti bagi penggal 2024-2027 dari 4 Mei hingga 6 Julai dengan hari pencalonan ditetapkan mulai 27 April ini.
Kerajaan pandang serius pihak main sentimen rakyat
Mesyuarat sepakat agar kerajaan bertindak tegas menurut lunas-lunas perundangan dan tidak berkompromi dengan sebarang tindakan melampau yang boleh menjejaskan kestabilan negara ini.
Harga minyak diunjur naik akibat konflik Iran-Israel
Harga minyak mentah Brent diunjur melonjak sehingga AS$95 setong berbanding sekitar AS$90 setong ketika ini berdasarkan jangkaan senario terburuk daripada konflik Iran-Israel.
Piala Uber: Tiada istilah mengalah buat Mei Xing
Pemain itu bagaimanapun mengakui sedikit terbeban dengan ketiadaan pasangan utama negara Pearly Tan-M Thinaah dalam kejohanan berkenaan.
MPOC jangka MSM didagangkan pada harga RM4,000-RM4,200 satu tan pada April
MPOC berkata, dinamik pasaran minyak sawit pada Mac dipengaruhi oleh beberapa faktor, termasuk peningkatan dalam pengeluaran minyak sawit.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
KDNK China meningkat 5.3 peratus pada suku pertama 2024
Ekonomi China berkembang lebih kukuh daripada jangkaan pada awal tahun ini, sebahagian besarnya disebabkan oleh aktiviti kilang yang teguh.
Ketibaan pelancong China ke Malaysia dijangka melebihi paras pra-COVID hujung tahun ini - CPAFFC
Yang berkata, kerjasama sudah terjalin buat sekian lama dan China melihat Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara dan rakan dagang yang penting.
China gesa elak konflik, anggap sudah selesai
China menggesa semua pihak mengelak konflik susulan tindakan serangan Iran ke atas Israel serta menganggap perkara itu sudah selesai.
Agong harap lebih banyak syarikat China melabur di Malaysia
Pertemuan bersama Seri Paduka Baginda itu membincangkan hubungan dua hala antara Malaysia dan China serta isu-isu semasa berkaitan kedua-dua negara.
'Tanah Besar China, Taiwan sedarah sedaging' - Presiden Xi
Tanah Besar China dan Taiwan sedarah sedaging dan hubungan antara kedua-dua pantai Selat Taiwan harus ditangani dengan menjaga kepentingan keseluruhan dan memacu pembangunan untuk jangka masa panjang.
China, Rusia setuju kekalkan pertukaran pastikan hubungan berkembang lancar
Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin dan Presiden China Xi Jinping bersepakat untuk terus mengekalkan pertukaran erat bagi memastikan hubungan bilateral berkembang dengan lancar dan stabil.