The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Shi Ting Wang, has assured that the ongoing China-United States (US) trade friction will not affect his country’s economic relations with Ghana and the rest of the African continent.
He said China remained committed to its trade deals on the continent and would continue to pursue avenues to solidify and elevate the momentum of the relations to a higher pedestal.
Mr Wang expressed this sentiment when he delivered a lecture dubbed “China-US trade friction; Dust will settle as we go along” at the Confucius Institute of the University of Ghana, on Thursday.
The lecture comes on the heels of heightened trade tension between the two countries which started when the US launched an investigation into Chinese trade policies in 2017.
This was based on accusations of unfair trade practices including intellectual property rights violation. US subsequently imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese products last year, an action which Beijing retaliated.
Explaining the China’s side of the friction, Mr Wang said it was US that, in May 2018, tore up trade consensus and imposed 25 per cent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese exports to US with threats to impose same on the remaining $325 billion imports.
He said contrary to assertions by US that its actions were to resolve the problem of fairness in trade, the country was rather taking advantage of “its long-standing ascendancy of economic and financial norms to grab unequal benefits.”
China, he averred, was not against US’ agenda “to become great again” but its concern was that its endeavour should be done in a fair manner devoid of stampeding other countries.
He rebuffed allegations levelled against China including intellectual property theft, explaining that China invested more than $300 billion in research and development annually, in a bid to get the best of innovation.
According to Mr Wang, since China entering the World Trade Organisation in 2001, intellectual property royalties paid to foreign right holders has registered an annual growth of 17 per cent, reaching $28.6 billion in 2017 with more than seven billion dollars going to US.
Asked when the trade friction would end, he said US would have to remove the unjustifiable tariffs on Chinese products and subsequently return to the correct track of bilateral economic and trade consultations with equality and mutual respect for mutual benefit based.
He indicated that China was open to negotiations but would not let it guard down until US did the needful. “China doesn’t want trade war, is not afraid of one but will fight to its end should a trade war break out,” he said.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
