Chinese Vice-Premiere Re-considering US Visit as Donald Trump Tweets about Raising Tariffs on Chinese Goods
China’s Vice Premiere Liu He is re-considering his scheduled trip to Washington DC in light of US President Donald Trump’s tweets which have threatened to further raise tariffs on Chinese goods.
Mumbai, May 6: China’s Vice Premiere Liu He is re-considering his scheduled trip to Washington DC in light of US President Donald Trump’s tweets which have threatened to further raise tariffs on Chinese goods.
Liu He’s trip could be postponed by a few days or altogether cancelled reported the South China Morning Post. A roughly 100-member Chinese delegation had been expected to accompany Vice Premier Liu He for the talks. News of Liu He’s visit being postponed came after US President made the dramatic announcement on Twitter, in what is obviously a move to raise the stakes for Beijing to come to an agreement on trade tariffs with the U.S.
Trump’s tweet hinted at the fact that he was unhappy at the pace of talks and he said is raising some tariffs because the trade talks are going "too slowly." The US President said tariffs on $200 billion of goods would increase to 25% starting May 10, 2019 from the prevailing 10%.
Trump also said he would target a further $325 billion of Chinese goods with 25% tariffs "shortly", essentially bringing all $525 billion worth of Chinese products imported to the U.S.
Apart from the Chinese government reacting to Trump’s announcement, global financial markets also reacted to the U.S. President’s decision. Shares listed on China’s stock markets plunged more than 4% at one point, while the US stock market futures fell close to 2 %. Oil prices too felt the hit and plunged along with the Chinese currency.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 06, 2019 02:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).