A Chinese commerce official said Thursday that China would not back down from a trade row heating up with the United States and its president, Donald Trump.
鈥淚 hope some people in the U.S do not misjudge the situation,鈥� Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng told reporters. 鈥淚f the United States takes any action to escalate the situation, China will not hesitate to fight back.鈥�
Gao was responding to questions about remarks made Tuesday by Chinese President Xi Jinping suggesting the country would open up its economy and decrease tariffs on some imported items like cars.
On Twitter, Trump said he was 鈥渧ery thankful鈥� for Xi鈥檚 remarks, adding the two countries would 鈥渕ake great progress together!鈥�
Gao said Xi鈥檚 statements, however, were about the ongoing commotion surrounding trade between the two countries, hinting that Trump had mischaracterized Xi鈥檚 attitude.
During a meeting Thursday with state governors and other lawmakers, Trump said Xi鈥檚 speech earlier in the week meant that China would soon remove some trade barriers, 鈥渕aybe all of them鈥�, he believed.
鈥淲e鈥檙e doing really well with China,鈥� Trump told reporters. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e having some great discussions, and we鈥檒l see what happens.鈥�
During his remarks, Trump reiterated criticisms against China he made earlier in the week about the latter鈥檚 25 percent import duties on automobiles. Trump maintained that it was not fair because the U.S. only charges a 2.5 percent tariff on imported Chinese vehicles.
Gao noted that international economic rules set by the World Trade Organization do not call for tariffs to be the same between trading nations.
Also on Thursday, the White House confirmed that it is reappraising the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement signed in 2016 between the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim nations. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement last year and it was never ratified.
A White House spokeswoman said Trump is 鈥渙pen to a substantially better deal鈥�.
Notably, China is not part of the TPP.
By Barry Eitel in San Francisco
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr