Don’t want trade war with US, says China

"China does not want a trade war with US but if US takes steps to hurt our interests, we will not sit idle," 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) spokesperson Zhang Yesui said.

Written by ZEESHAN SHAIKH | Beijing | Published: March 4, 2018 11:52 am

US President Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping. (File)

China, which will be greatly affected by US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose more tariffs on steel and aluminium, on Sunday said that while it had no interest in overthrowing the existing world order, it would not sit idle if its interests were hurt.

“China does not want a trade war with US but if US takes steps to hurt our interests, we will not sit idle,” 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) spokesperson Zhang Yesui said while addressing a press conference before China’s top legislative bodies annual session which begins on Monday.

The spokesperson also said that it had no intention of overthrowing the existing international world order. “We have no intention of overthrowing the existing international order. We are defenders of the existing international order. We hope that the international order will evolve to ensure equity and justice,” he added.

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Yesui said that the perception that China was using the Belt and Road initiative as a geopolitical tool was wrong. “Saying that the Belt and Road initiative is China’s geopolitical tool is a misrepresentation. The project is a proposal for economic cooperation and opportunities for global growth. It does not target any country,” he said.

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