China’s Vice Premier Liu He has denied that China backtracked on agreements made in trade negotiations with the United States, an allegation that prompted President Donald Trump to call for an additional 15% of tariffs on Chinese goods, said the Financial Times.
“We believe that before an agreement is reached, any change is very natural,” Liu said, according to Hong Kong-based Phoenix Media. “We did not backtrack. We had disagreements over how to write some of the text is all.”
China wants a deal “premised on equality and dignity,” Liu said, adding that the remaining differences were “matters of principle” over which China could not make concessions.
On Friday, Trump ordered a sharp rise in the punitive tariff rate currently imposed on about $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, from 10% to 25%. The tariff increase was initiated based on China ‘reneging’ commitments towards a trade agreement, said US officials.
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