On May 29, ten days after China and the U.S. agreed to hold off on starting a trade war, the White House announced that it will “impose a 25 percent tariff on US$50 billion of goods imported from China containing industrially significant technology, including those related to the ‘Made in China 2025’ program. The final list of covered imports will be announced by June 15, 2018, and tariffs will be imposed on those imports shortly thereafter.” Duowei News published a commentary article on the same day. The article stated that the statement that the White House made certainly proved that those China hardliners were not happy about the last joint statement to hold off on the trade war. It demonstrated the unpredictability of Trump’s political style and that there are conflicts between China and the U.S. that are difficult to resolve. The article suggested that, first of all, China should maintain its strategic strength and be mentally prepared for the difficulties and risks facing China – U.S. relations. It stated that unlike Japan, who the U.S. forced to sign the “Plaza Accord” 30 years ago, which led to the long-term stagnation of its economy, China has more chips and strengths to play in this game. Secondly, China should clearly recognize the gap between China and the U.S. in both hard power and soft power. According to the article, China needs to take ZTE as a big lesson where ZTE, the No.2 player in the telecommunication industry in China and a tycoon in the telecommunication industry in the world, was forced into an idle state because of its over-reliance on U.S. technology. The article concluded, “When a country like the U.S., which surpasses China by dozens of years in its core technology, still holds such a strong sense of crisis against China, how can China not remain clear-headed?”
Source: Duowei News, May 29, 2018
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