A trade war seems to be looming between India and China after New Delhi imposed anti-dumping duties on 93 Chinese products amidst a military standoff in Doklam area, two state media reports said in Beijing on Monday.
An article in The Global Times, part of the ruling Communist Party's publication group, urged Chinese firms to “reconsider the risks” of investing in India, and warned New Delhi to be "prepared for the possible consequences for its ill-considered action."
The article said that China “could easily retaliate” with restrictions on Indian products, but added that it “doesn’t make much economic sense” for the country.
It cited figures from the Indian embassy in China to show that Indian exports fell by 12.3 percent year-on-year to USD 11.75 billion while India's imports from China rose by 2 percent to USD 59 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of USD 47 billion.
A trade war between China and India seems to be looming after the latter moved last Wednesday to impose anti-dumping duties on 93 products from China. If India really starts a trade war with China, of course, China’s economic interests will be hurt, but there will also be consequences for India.Chinese Media Report
The report on trade comes as India and China have been locked in a tense military standoff in Doklam in the Sikkim sector.
Given the tense bilateral trade ties, China may consider temporarily suspending investment or economic cooperation projects in India to ensure the security of these investments.The Global Times
Another article in China Daily said boycotting Chinese goods would harm India.
Referring to the calls of boycott of Chinese products, it said the ongoing standoff in Doklam seems to have spilled over into bilateral exchanges.
Suffice to say, calling for the boycotting of Chinese products and those related to Chinese investors is not just a fool’s errand, but also risks backfiring. It is the Indian economy that will suffer because of the boycott.Chinese Media Report
China Warns Against ‘Trade War’ With US
China warned on Monday that nobody would win in a “trade war” with the United States as President Donald Trump prepared to launch an investigation into Chinese intellectual property practices.
Trump was due on Tuesday to sign a memorandum directing US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to determine whether any Chinese laws, policies or practices, discriminate against or harm American innovators and technology companies.
The investigation could lead to sanctions against Beijing.
Asked about the US move, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said any member of the World Trade Organisation must respect WTO rules.
Fighting a trade war has no future. There will be no winner and everybody will lose. I believe China and the US should continue to work together for the stable and sound development of China-US economic and trade relations.Hua Chunying, Spokesperson, Chinese Foreign Ministry
US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, bluntly accused China on Saturday of “stealing our intellectual property” – long a concern of Western companies seeking a share of the enormous Chinese market.
The looming investigation follows high tensions between Washington and Beijing. Trump has accused China of failing to rein in the nuclear ambitions of its ally North Korea.
The US officials, however, said the North Korean issue and the investigation into China's trade practices are not linked.
China today announced that it would ban from Tuesday imports of iron, iron ore and seafood from North Korea as it follows through on new UN sanctions approved earlier this month.
I want to say that China-US cooperation should be based on mutual respect and mutual trust. The Korean peninsula nuclear issue and the China-US trade issue are totally different and it’s not appropriate to use one issue as a tool to keep pressure on the other issue.Hua Chunying
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