While most of the shipping world’s attention has understandably been focused on the crisis in the Middle East, China has made its latest move in the long-running trade war between the U.S. and China.
China’s announcement of a new trade investigation
This week, China’s government announced that it had begun an investigation into U.S. trade practices pertaining to China, in a move that’s clearly a counter response against strict U.S. trade policies against Chinese goods.
Although the move seems escalatory on the surface, it was actually a muted response to additional trade actions investigating Chinese trade practices announced by the U.S. government earlier this month. Those efforts did not receive too much media attention due to the Iran conflict.
Earlier U.S. actions against China
Earlier this month, the U.S. announced new Section 301 investigations into Chinese trade policies, seeking to highlight what the U.S. government calls “unfair trade practices”. The U.S. was particularly concerned with China’s industrial capacity, as well as labor practices.
Of course, those actions were only the latest development in the long-running U.S.-China trade war which started during Trump’s first term but later thawed under the Biden administration before restarting last year. Over the past 15 months, the Trump administration has expanded tariffs against Chinese goods and traded escalatory rhetoric with the Chinese government over everything from trade practices to China’s economy to Taiwan and more.
Since then, President Donald Trump postponed a planned visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping but then announced he would visit China later this spring in May.
Details of the new Chinese trade investigation
China says its investigations into U.S. trade practices are expected to end within the next six months. Specific areas to be investigated under scrutiny are U.S. trade actions that may “disrupt global supply and industrial chains”, as well actions that will “hinder trade in green products” in the words of the Chinese commerce ministry. China is seeking to force the normal flow of trade for Chinese technology products, as well as so-called “green” products into the U.S.
For its part, China has repeatedly stressed it wants to de-escalate trade tensions with the U.S. government. This is especially true in recent months as China faces some economic headwinds at home, as well as other factors that mean its global relationship on the world stage is more important than ever. Chinese and U.S. trade envoys met during a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting this week, both pledging to find common ground and reduce trade tensions, but time will tell if a comprehensive deal is even possible.
