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Chinese premier cites damage from US tariffs, as China's surplus surpasses $1T - ASSOCIATED PRESS
BANGKOK (AP) — Higher tariffs have dealt a “severe blow” to the world economy, China's premier said Tuesday, even as China’s own trade surplus has surged past $1 trillion.
Premier Li Qiang made the remarks at a forum of top international organizations held in Beijing while top Chinese leaders are attending an annual economic planning meeting.
“Starting from the beginning of this year, we’ve seen the stick of tariffs being wielded around the world with growing restrictive measures on the economy and trade, which have dealt a severe blow to the global economy," Li said, without mentioning U.S. President Donald Trump and his tariff hikes specifically.
"As the situation has unfolded, the damaging consequences of tariffs hurting both others and oneself have become increasingly evident, and calls from all sides to uphold free trade have grown ever stronger,” Li told the gathering of top representatives from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization.
Trump’s sharply higher tariffs on imports from China and other countries have dented Chinese exports to the U.S. but that has been offset by higher shipments to other global markets. Chinese customs figures reported Monday showed exports to the United States plunged 29% in November from a year earlier in the eighth straight months of declines.
