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China said it was ready for any “unexpected shocks”, ahead of US President Donald Trump imposing higher tariffs on the world’s second-biggest economy.
Premier Li Qiang, responsible for the Chinese economy under leader Xi Jinping, told foreign business leaders gathered in Beijing on Sunday that uncertainty and instability were rising, but China would choose the “correct path” of globalisation and multilateralism.
“We have preparations for possible unexpected shocks, which of course mainly come from external sources,” Li said.
And in a thinly veiled swipe at what Beijing sees as western protectionism, Li urged attendees at the China Development Forum to be “staunch defenders” of globalisation and “resist unilateralism”.
The US is expected to impose additional levies on imports from China on April 2, when it unveils “reciprocal tariffs” on countries around the world.
Since taking office, Trump has already slapped 20 per cent tariffs on goods from China, in a move the White House says is designed to pressure Beijing to crack down harder on companies that make the ingredients for fentanyl, a sometimes deadly synthetic opioid that has triggered an epidemic of drug use in the US.
The cautionary tone from the Chinese premier comes as Beijing tries to improve consumer and investor sentiment, while also preparing potential retaliatory measures against future US tariffs and sanctions.
While Xi’s administration was caught off-guard by Trump’s 2016 election victory, Beijing is now armed with a quiver of potential countermeasures to new US pressure. They include curbing American access to supply chains for strategic minerals and resources.
Amid calls from economists for Beijing to be bolder in addressing slowing economic growth, Xi’s government is pivoting towards more investment in cutting-edge technology and manufacturing, in part to steel itself for a more hostile geopolitical environment.
There have been very few top-level talks between the US and China since Trump took office, barring one phone call between the president and President Xi Jinping.
Trump last week said Xi would come to the US in the “not too distant future”, but people familiar with the conversations in Washington and Beijing said there had been no discussion about Xi travelling to America.
Also on Sunday, Li met Steve Daines, a Republican senator from Montana who is very close to Trump, in a rare meeting between a senior American lawmaker and top Chinese official.
Li, flanked by senior officials including finance minister Wang Wentao, called for improved ties between Washington and Beijing.
“History tells us that China and the United States both stand to gain from co-operation and lose from confrontation,” he said to the US side, who also included Pfizer executive Albert Bourla and Qualcomm chief executive Cristiano Amon.
According to Daines’ office, at a meeting on Saturday with vice premier He Lifeng, the senator reiterated Trump’s call for China to halt the flow of chemicals used to make fentanyl. It added that Daines had “expressed hope that further high-level talks between the United States and China will take place in the near future”.
Earlier this month the State Council, China’s cabinet, released a new white paper outlining Beijing’s “rigorous control” over fentanyl-related substances and precursor chemicals. State media also pushed back on the pressure from Washington, saying the US had “shifted the blame” for its drugs problem “rather than taking responsibility itself”.
Additional reporting by Joe Leahy in Beijing
