ADVERTISEMENT

Buying More From the U.S. Won’t Hurt Other Nations, China Says

The government promised to increase imports of American goods and services by $200 billion over the next two years.

Buying More From the U.S. Won’t Hurt Other Nations, China Says
U.S. one-hundred dollar bills sit with a Chinese one-hundred yuan banknotes on a black background in this arranged photograph in Hong Kong, China. (Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg)  

(Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here

The expansion of Chinese imports from the U.S. under the recently signed trade deal won’t affect demand for goods from other nations, a Chinese trade official told reporters on Tuesday.

China welcomes high quality, competitive American goods, but its purchases will be based on market demand and World Trade Organization principles, Ministry of Commerce trade official Li Xingqian said at a press conference in Beijing. China’s market is large, and continues to grow, Li said, adding that he hoped the U.S. would create favorable conditions for increasing exports to China.

The government promised to increase imports of American goods and services by $200 billion over the next two years, as part of the trade deal signed earlier this month in Washington. That has created concern that China would buy more from the U.S. and less from other nations, hurting the exports of nations such as Argentina, Brazil, Australia or the countries of the European Union.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Miao Han in Beijing at mhan22@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey Black at jblack25@bloomberg.net, James Mayger

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

With assistance from Bloomberg