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A top Chinese official has warned against protectionism, speaking out as Donald Trump’s return to the White House renews the threat of a trade war.<\/p>\n
Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ding Xuexiang, Vice Premier of China, said<\/a> his country was looking for a “win-win” solution to trade tensions and wanted to expand its imports.<\/p>\n He did not mention the US by name.<\/p>\n During his election campaign, Trump threatened to hit Chinese-made products with border taxes known as tariffs of up to 60%, but he held off on any immediate tariff action on his first day, instead ordering his administration to study the issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n US goods imports from China have flattened since 2018<\/a>, a statistic that economists have attributed in part to a series of escalating tariffs that Trump imposed during his first term.<\/p>\n That stand-off ended in 2020 when the two countries signed a deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the time, Trump walked back some of his tariffs in exchange for commitments by China to purchase American agricultural and other products. <\/p>\n But US officials say China has not upheld its side of the agreement. <\/p>\n Speaking to Congress last week, Scott Bessent, whose confirmation as Treasury Secretary cleared a key hurdle on Tuesday, said he expected to push to enforce those agreements and raised the possibility of demanding “catch up” purchases as well.<\/p>\n Trump has also lashed out at the imbalance in US trade with China, which sells overseas far more than it imports. <\/p>\n In his speech at Davos, Ding said his country had eased restrictions on foreign investment, wanted to boost domestic consumption and was not seeking a “trade surplus”.<\/p>\n “We want to import more competitive, quality products and services to promote balanced trade,” he said.<\/p>\n He acknowledged that economic globalisation could bring “some tensions and disagreements on distribution” but said it was not a “zero-sum game, but a universally beneficial process where all can benefit”.<\/p>\n “Protectionism leads nowhere,” he said. “Trade war has no winners.”<\/p>\n He added: “I believe that we have the wisdom and capability needed to find a win-win and all-win solution.<\/p>\n “We should not only make the pie of economic globalisation bigger, but also distribute it better.”<\/p>\n