China blames US for May trade tension setback

07/06/2019
The trade tensions between China and the US show no signs of easing. At the start of June, the Chinese government presented its interpretation of how things stand in a white paper.

In the white paper, it said the announcement on May 10 from US president, Donald Trump, of increased tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports was a breach of an agreement reached with China’s president, Xi Jinping. 

It said: “From late March to early April, the working teams of the two countries held three rounds of high-level consultations and made substantial progress. The two countries had agreed on most of the issues. But the more the US government is offered, the more it wants. Resorting to intimidation and coercion, it persisted with exorbitant demands, maintained the additional tariffs imposed since the friction began, and insisted on including mandatory requirements concerning China’s sovereign affairs in the deal, which only served to delay the resolution of remaining differences.”