TRADE INVESTIGATIONS
The United States announced new trade investigations last week into excess industrial capacity, targeting 60 economies, including China and other key partners.
The probes will look into “failures to take action on forced labour” and whether these burden or restrict US commerce, according to US officials.
The move opens the door to new penalties, prompting China’s criticism earlier Thursday of “political manipulation”.
Beijing said on Monday that it “lodged representations” and urged Washington to “correct its erroneous” trade practices.
“We urge the US side to immediately correct its erroneous ways, meet China halfway … and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiations,” Beijing’s commerce ministry said in a statement.
The latest round of investigations “is extremely unilateral, arbitrary and discriminatory”, it said, accusing Washington of “attempting to construct trade barriers”.
Global oil prices have surged by 40 to 50 per cent since the war began, with Hormuz choked off and Iran’s attacks on energy and shipping industry targets in its Gulf neighbours.
Experts say that China, which maintains large oil reserves, is better equipped than many other nations to deal with the impact of the war.
But it has reason to be concerned about the consequences of the situation in the Middle East on trade.
China’s official trade data for January and February, before the war in Iran began, showed that the country’s economy is largely buoyed by exports and international trade.