China calls Donald Trump’s trade war escalation a ‘strategic mistake’
- Communist Party mouthpiece, the ‘People’s Daily’ warns latest tariffs move will make it impossible for Washington to ‘win’ the dispute
- It also calls Beijing’s retaliation a ‘restrained response, different in nature from the American provocation’
Chinese state media has called US President Donald Trump’s decision to escalate the tariff war a “strategic mistake” and vowed not to give in to America’s “unreasonable demands”.
In an editorial on Sunday, Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily warned that the latest move would make it impossible for Washington to “win” the trade war.
“If some in the United States fail to admit that this is a strategic mistake, or that it will bring losses [to the US] they will end up being the ones who have to face the finger-pointing and will find it is impossible to achieve the win they once bragged about,” it read.
It came as the trade war between the world’s two largest economies is intensifying, and with further talks to de-escalate tensions yet to be scheduled.
Washington broke a truce agreed in June between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping by imposing a 10 per cent tariff on a further US$300 billion worth of Chinese imports late last month. It also labelled China a “currency manipulator” and further inflamed tensions by approving a major arms sale to Taiwan.