China denounced as protectionist new US anti-dumping duties on steel pipes and launched its own investigation into imports of US-made automobiles yesterday, a week before a visit by US President Barack Obama.
It also called for Washington’s swift recognition that China is a market economy, which would make it harder for the US to declare Chinese products are dumped.
China’s calibrated response may be an attempt to avoid a tense atmosphere in the hope of concessions during Obama’s visit.
The US on Thursday slapped preliminary anti-dumping duties of US$2.63 billion on Chinese-made pipes used in the oil and gas industry, in the biggest US trade action against China to date. That follows countervailing duties on the pipes, announced in September.
“China resolutely opposes the abuse of protectionist measures,” China’s Commerce Ministry said on its Web site.
Obama will visit China for several days from Nov. 15 and trade disputes are likely to feature prominently.
China’s investigation would target sedans with engine capacity of 2 liters and above, as well as sports utility vehicles, the Commerce Ministry said, issuing a long list of incentives and tax breaks granted by the US federal government and the state of Michigan.
“We hope that the US will set aside its biases and as quickly as possible recognize China’s market economic status, thoroughly overcoming its double standards and giving equal and fair treatment to Chinese firms,” it said.
In trade meetings with US officials last week in Hangzhou, the Chinese pressed for recognition as a market economy, before the 2016 deadline negotiated when it entered the WTO.
“We hope that the US will abide by the principles of free trade and non-discrimination in trade under WTO rules in handling this issue,” Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Yi Xiaozhun (易小準) said.
Washington promised to set up a panel to consider the issue.
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
SOLUTIONS NEEDED: Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers due to population decline, the minister of economic affairs said in Washington President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration is considering a plan to import labor to deal with an impending shortage of engineers and other highly skilled workers, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said in Washington on Tuesday. Kuo was leading a delegation attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit. Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers for high-end manufacturing jobs by 2040, he said. Ministry of Economic Affairs officials are still calculating the precise number of workers that are needed, as it works on loosening immigration restrictions and creating incentives, Kuo said. Taiwanese firms operating factories in the US and other countries would