China doesn’t want a trade war with US, but can deal with any challenges

China doesn’t want and will not start a trade war, but is able to deal with any challenges, and will defend national and Chinese people's interests, said China’s Commerce Minister Zhong Shan on Sunday, in response to a question about recent China-US trade frictions.

Zhong made the remarks at a press conference during the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress in Beijing.

A trade war leaves no winners, and will only lead to disastrous outcomes for the two countries and the rest of the world, Zhong added.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday pressed ahead with the imposition of 25 percent tariffs on steel imports and 10 percent tariffs on aluminum, with initial exemptions for Canada and Mexico, igniting international fear of a trade war.

On Friday, China’s Ministry of Commerce said it "resolutely opposed" the move, and would assess any damage caused by it, saying it will "firmly defend its legitimate rights and interests."

Zhong said that the two parties are still in discussions and China is more than happy to work with the US side. The trade volumes between the two countries expanded 220 fold over 40 years since China and the US established diplomatic ties. Trade relations between the two countries are complementary and still have huge potential.

US-China trade deficit figure overvalued

As for the US’s trade deficit with China, Zhong noted that the official deficit number announced by the US has been overestimated by around 20 percent during the past few years, according to the study of a joint work group made up of experts from both countries.

Besides, the trade imbalance is structural: China has a surplus in goods trade, while the United States enjoys a surplus in service trade. If the US can relax export control on cutting edge technologies, the trade deficit will be reduced by about 35 percent, said Zhong.

(CGTN)