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.
Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ding Xuexiang, Vice Premier of China, said his country was looking for a “win-win” solution to trade tensions and wanted to expand its imports.
He did not mention the US by name.
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.
US goods imports from China have flattened since 2018, a statistic that economists have attributed in part to a series of escalating tariffs that Trump imposed during his first term.
That stand-off ended in 2020 when the two countries signed a deal.
At the time, Trump walked back some of his tariffs in exchange for commitments by China to purchase American agricultural and other products.
But US officials say China has not upheld its side of the agreement.
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.
Trump has also lashed out at the imbalance in US trade with China, which sells overseas far more than it imports.
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”.
“We want to import more competitive, quality products and services to promote balanced trade,” he said.
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”.
“Protectionism leads nowhere,” he said. “Trade war has no winners.”
He added: “I believe that we have the wisdom and capability needed to find a win-win and all-win solution.
“We should not only make the pie of economic globalisation bigger, but also distribute it better.”
The IMF warned last week that a threatened wave of Trump tariffs would make trade tensions worse, lower investment, and disrupt supply chains across the world.
