US, China need to restrain trade conflict: Kissinger
There is
a huge difference between the current US-China trade tussle and the Cold War confrontations,
former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger said at a session at the New
Economy Forum held in Beijing, where he expressed hopes for success in the
China-US ongoing trade negotiations.
Compared
with past conflicts the world witnessed, Kissinger said, “In our period, we do
not yet have this degree of rivalry ... but we also don’t have formal
negotiations to reduce the political conflict.”
“China
is a major economic country, and so are we... and so we are bound to step on
each other’s toes,” said the renowned US statesman, toning down concerns over
the possibility of a trade-war-ignited cold war, or even a hot war.
“So a
discussion of our mutual purposes and an attempt to limit the impact of
conflict seems to me essential ... and if conflict is permitted to run
unconstrained, the outcome could be even worse (than past conflicts)”.
Kissinger
flew covertly to Beijing in July 1971 and helped open up a new leaf in the
China-US bilateral relationship based on engagement and cooperation.
China,
by its sheer magnitude, is about to become a major factor in the international
system, Kissinger said, casting his mind back to his original concept of the
relationship between China and the US.
Kissinger
also voiced hope for success in the ongoing trade talks between the two
countries.
“Trade
negotiations, which I hope will succeed and whose success I support, can only
be a small beginning to a political discussion that I hope will take place by
the year's end,” he said.
The
world’s two largest economies have been locked in a trade war for 16 months.
Despite substantial progress having been made in the latest round of trade
talks in October, some still hold a cautious attitude toward whether the two
could finally reach a substantial “phase-one deal”.
Gao
Feng, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), said at a regular
press briefing on Thursday, November 21, that China and US trade negotiators
will continue to maintain close communications.
“China
is willing to make joint efforts with the US based on equivalence and mutual
respect to properly handle each other’s core concerns in an effort to achieve a
phase-one trade deal,” Gao said.
Henry
Paulson, former US treasury secretary, said at the same forum that “it’s a
tough time in terms of the challenges we are facing in the global economy… and
this forum is focused on the fastest-growing parts of the economy and the
newest technologies.”
Although
traditional economic models have been challenged and can’t work as well as they
used to, “terrific opportunities” also exist along with the complex challenges,
Paulson said.
Moves to
undercut ties between the US and China would weaken the US’ leadership and its
leading role in the finance sector, according to Paulson.
In the
first 10 months of this year, China’s exports to the US stood at 2.39 trillion
yuan ($340 billion), sliding 6.8 percent, data from the General Administration
of Customs showed.
Referring
to the US, Wei Jianguo, former vice minister of commerce, said on Thursday that
“unlike certain countries, China is not aggressive and doesn’t put its
interests ahead of other countries, because it doesn’t conform to the current
global development trend.”
Source:Global Times
Henry Kissinger
seen at the forum in Beijing on Thursday (Photo: Courtesy of the New Economy
Forum)
US, China need to restrain trade conflict: Kissinger
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