They both agreed to disagree in a bitter war of words in Beijing. Mike Pompeo, the United States Secretary of State, faced a fraught meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday.
Highlighting the schism between Beijing and Washington, Wang accused the US of descending into “conflict and confrontation.”
“These actions have affected the mutual trust between both sides, and has cast a shadow over the prospect of China-US relations, which completely go against the interest of our two peoples,” Wang said at a media conference.
“We require that the US stop such misguided actions,” he pointed out, adding that the two countries should pursue cooperation “and not descend into conflict and confrontation.”
Wang and Pompeo discussed a range of issues, such as North Korea and the trade war. But after US Vice-President Mike Pence delivered a searing speech last week when he accused China of military and economic aggression, it was always going to be a minefield.
Pompeo even invoked the cancellation of a meeting between US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and his Chinese counterpart, which was supposed to take place in Beijing this month.
“I regret that the strategic dialogue between our two countries is something you all chose not to undertake,” he said.
But Wang retorted: “The strategic dialogue was not called off by the Chinese. I am stating a fact.”
Still, this verbal spat could not have come at a worse time. Beijing is becoming increasingly concerned about an economic slowdown. On Monday, a private services sector purchasing managers’ index showed expansion last month, despite firms shedding jobs.
The Caixin/Markit PMI jumped to 53.1 in September from 51.5 the previous month and stayed above the 50 mark, which separates growth from contraction.
“[But] what we should be wary of is that overall employment contracted in September,” Zhengsheng Zhong, the director of macroeconomic analysis at CEBM Group, said in a note.
At the weekend, the People’s Bank of China effectively decided to pump up to US$175 billion into the economy when it reduced the reserve requirement ratios, or RRR, for commercial banks.
“[The] RRR is currently 15.5% for large commercial lenders and 13.5% for smaller banks [and it] would be cut by 100 basis points effective October 15,” the PBOC, or de facto central bank, announced in a statement.
Apart from disappointing employment data from the services PMI, factory activity sentiment also deteriorated last month, buffeted by the trade war.
During the summer, the world’s second-largest economy has shown signs of cooling with manufacturing profits slowing for four consecutive months. Mainland markets have also fallen to levels not seen in the past four years. All this has come at a time when business confidence in China has dipped.
“The trade war’s impact on the economy is showing,” Xu Hongcai, the deputy chief economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a Beijing think tank, said.
“There is room for further reductions and I expect another one percentage point cut by the year-end,” Xu added.
The move to help struggling companies facing funding problems was rolled out on Sunday, which came at the end of the Golden Week national holiday, and just 48 hours after Pence had increased the pressure on Beijing.
Up to $260 billion worth of Chinese imports to the US have been hit by tariffs and President Donald Trump has hinted he “could go all the way to 500,” which would include all goods and products going into the country.
“America had hoped that economic liberalization would bring China into greater partnership with us and with the world,” Pence said in his speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington. “Instead, China has chosen economic aggression, which has, in turn, emboldened its growing military.”
What is "economic aggression"? Is that what people call "soft power" when it is used by the US or its clonies?
It is easy to start a trade war or any war. The problem is how do you end it, especially with China?
Why all negotiations are taking place in China and not the other way around? A winner is in hurry to negotiate.
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Sadly, the saying 一山不能容二虎 is very real here. Sometimes and eventually, someone will go macho macho on the other and start shooting followed by nukes flying everywhichway across the Pacific theater so brace yourselves folks.
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Economic aggression = push becomes shove and shove become a fist fight and, a fist fight turns into a shooting war.
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Chinese general: China should respond with nuclear strikes if American "position-guided munitions" are used on Chinese territory”. Very logical comment.
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Flora de los Sinensis
I don’t see any country in the World doing that except the US of course…
Pence’s accusatory speech show that the Trump team is at a loss for strategy to impede China’s rise, on-track to become the dominant economy.
No need for every country. Some critical ones that the US relies on, together can make the US back to the reason.
The West was expecting China to follow the steps of Japan, SK, etc be subservient to the USA Empire. They didn’t expect China will challenge them with the 2020 project. From my own eyes there are more entrepreneurs, energy, youth, innovation, and synergy in Shenzhen than Silicon Valley. Every I go in China there is energy and innovation. Every I go in USA there is decay, old people, drugs, childless neighbors except for Hispanics. No American is innovating except for immigrants.
It’s is almost impossible to fight demographics. The only barely successful has been China one child policy which help reduced too many mouths to feed without it which China now will be worst than India. American whities are basically voluntarily going extinct. To tell U the truth, I’d too if I found out what atrocities my ancestors did to the people of the world, mother earth, and their own people.
ANOTHER PROPAGANDA PIECE WRITTEN BY ASIA TIMES FOR THE U.S NEOCON ZIONIST ADM OF TRUMP. POMPEO/PENCE BOLTON MUST HAVE APPROVED THIS GARBAGE.
WuKong Sun WHAT NO BLACKS NO BROWNS IN THE US. MILITARY?YOU MUST BE CRAZY PAL!! ITS MOSTLY ALL BLACK AND BROWN AND DUMB WHITES!!!
US is the one committing economic aggression when it dictates the trading partners of independent countries. EU cannot purchase Russian gas but must buy US gas. US tells the whole world not to buy oil from Iran otherwise the purchasing country will be sanctioned. It warns India not to buy arms from Russia and sanctioned China for buying the same from Russia.
US imposed sanctions on Venezuela, Iran and N Korea and forced Canada and Mexico not to have trade agreements with China.
Hillary and Tillerson went to Africa and openly told the Africans to exclude Chinese investments. Tillerson and W Ross went to Latin America and told them no to trade with China.
The US politicians constantly and repeatedly attack and criticise the BRI.
All these are done openly and aggressively.
To castigate China for economic aggression is a big lie.
US foreign policy is littered with lies to justify its militaristic and imperialist ambitions.
US inted to destroy other contries,like China,Russia,etc.
This not hapen any more
One word:
Excellent!
One word:
Excellent!
WuKong Sun
Have you noticed economic theft? The USA is fighting Economic Theft of Intellellectual Properties .
Have you noticed the amount of money China steals from poor countries with weak governance by peddling fake, single use copy products produced with stolen and copied intellectual properties.
Come to Png and see for yourself .
China is deceiving poor countries by using its soft loans as a " bait " to get poor countries quickly indebted with the aim of taking over their strategic assets and colonizing poor countries that default in loan repaymets.
The Usa has the full support of poor countries in dealing with this deceitfull economic thief.
WuKong Sun
Have you noticed economic theft? The USA is fighting Economic Theft of Intellellectual Properties .
Have you noticed the amount of money China steals from poor countries with weak governance by peddling fake, single use copy products produced with stolen and copied intellectual properties.
Come to Png and see for yourself .
China is deceiving poor countries by using its soft loans as a " bait " to get poor countries quickly indebted with the aim of taking over their strategic assets and colonizing poor countries that default in loan repaymets.
The Usa has the full support of poor countries in dealing with this deceitfull economic thief.
Peandui Koyati
Your view is camouflaged Communism. For communism, any form of loan is blood suckered should be fought against. Good luck to your people…
Peandui Koyati
Your view is camouflaged Communism. For communism, any form of loan is blood suckered should be fought against. Good luck to your people…
CommChi comes to any important meetings as if they’re the lions to be reckoned with hehehe…and wants to dictate the tempo. They should behave rather than being branded as Kenkoys. Their woes now were created by them. Well, never mind, ComChise are used to eating porridge with salted bokchoy (petchay) as viand.
CommChi comes to any important meetings as if they’re the lions to be reckoned with hehehe…and wants to dictate the tempo. They should behave rather than being branded as Kenkoys. Their woes now were created by them. Well, never mind, ComChise are used to eating porridge with salted bokchoy (petchay) as viand.