China should take the high road on Trump's trade war: opinion

Defeating China in a trade war has been US President Trump's goal and a major issue in his campaign. The Trump administration plans to slap tariffs on up to 60 billion US dollars worth of Chinese goods, and it's also looking to file new complaints against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

This raises concerns on how citizens from the two countries are going to cope with the turbulence in trade relations, and begs the question: what long-term effects will this move have on the relationship between China and the US?

Joseph Stiglitz, a Columbia University professor who is a Nobel laureate in economics, sits down with CGTN's World Insight host, Tian Wei and gives his opinion on the subject.

"What I was suggesting a year ago when Trump got elected, and he promised to engage a strong trade; I said you have to understand that Trump is a boy, you can't engage appeasement. I also said you want to respond within the international rule of law. Go to WTO and file a case. Because I believe, what the United States is doing is not a WTO complaint," he said.

Stiglitz thinks China needs to look to the future rather than get too entangled in the current dispute. He continues, "China should take the high road and have a view of the long run."

He believes most citizens in the US view Trump as a temporary phenomenon. The question is, how will this 'temporary phenomenon' impact the long-term relationship between China and the US? He says that is what the world really needs to focus on.

(CGTN)