(VOVWORLD) -China-US trade is the result of market forces with multiple factors at play, including the two countries’ economic structures and trade policies as well as the position of the US dollar, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
 China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning (Photo: CTTV) |
She told a press conference in Beijing on Monday that China never deliberately seeks a trade surplus, adding that the US has benefited abundantly from trade with China.
"If one had been ripping the other off, there is no way their ties would have come as far as we see today," Mao said, adding that to pursue absolute reciprocity in trade goes against the most basic economic common sense and those who do so are underestimating the judgment of US companies and consumers.
She said, "Whether it’s a tariff war or a trade war, invariably start by hurting others before coming back to hurt the one who launched it. It’s time for the US to learn its lesson and end this wrong practice."
It’s been years since the US initiated a trade war against the rest of the world, yet it has not stopped the US trade deficit from going up and reaching 918.4 billion USD last year, Mao said.