China fumes over US law backing Hong Kong, says retaliation inevitable
International News: Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. China is making a habit of issuing vague retaliation threats. So far, however, it hasn’t actually done much. The foreign ministry gave another warning on Thursday after President Donald Trump signed bills backing Hong Kong’s protesters, using language that mirrored a statement last week.
China issued similar threats earlier this year after the U.S. approved arms sales to Taiwan, sanctioned companies over human-rights abuses in Xinjiang and put Huawei Technologies Co. on a blacklist. “We suggest that the U.S. stops sticking obstinately to its course or China will take resolute countermeasures,” the foreign ministry said. “The U.S. side will bear all responsibility for the consequences.” Later, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang dodged questions on when China would reply or whether it would impact trade talks, telling reporters to “stay tuned.”
“What will come will come,” he said. The failure to flesh out the details despite having weeks to prepare shows the difficulties China faces in hitting the U.S. without also hurting its own economy, which is growing at the slowest pace in almost three decades. Apart from implementing retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., China has largely stuck to a policy of “strategic composure” when it comes to other aspects of the relationship.
Trade Talks Impact
Mei Xinyu, a researcher at a think tank under China’s Commerce Ministry, said that the Hong Kong issue will definitely be discussed at the trade negotiation table and China will likely ask the U.S. side to clarify its stance, or even make some promises on refraining from using the bill. He added that China will prepare some countermeasures at the same time, echoing the Foreign Ministry’s remarks earlier, without elaborating on what specific measures will be taken..
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