China says drop in trade with the U.S. is 'a direct consequence of U.S. moves'

cnbc.com:

BEIJING — China's ambassador to the U.S., Xie Feng, has blamed U.S. tariffs and export controls for a drop in trade between the two countries.

That's according to a speech he gave via video on Tuesday at Forbes' U.S.-China Business Forum in New York, published online by the Chinese embassy in the U.S.

China-U.S. trade fell by 14.5% in the first half of the year from a year ago, Xie pointed out.

«This is a direct consequence of U.S. moves to levy Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, abuse unilateral sanctions and further tighten up export controls,» he said.

«Livelihoods of many families have been affected, and businesses from both countries have born the brunt.»

The U.S. is China's largest trading partner on a single country basis.

Year-to-date, U.S.-China trade fell further in July with a 15.4% decline from the same period in 2022, China customs data showed.

«The biggest risk is any decoupling between China and the United States, and the largest source of insecurity comes from any confrontation between the two,» he said.

«To shut out China is to close the door on opportunities, cooperation, stability and development.»

Exports remain a major contributor to China's economy, although their share has fallen in recent years.

The U.S. government on Wednesday revised down second-quarter domestic product to a 2.1% annualized pace, contrary to expectations there would be no revision, Reuters said. The report said lower business spending on equipment contributed to the revision.

Xie on Tuesday called for finding «a path for expanding mutually beneficial economic cooperation and trade between China and the United States.»

«Going forward, we need to continue taking concrete steps, no matter how small they may look,» he said,