China’s Premier, Li Keqiang, Strikes Upbeat Tone Amid U.S. Tensions
Mr. Li said that if a trade war broke out between China and the United States, foreign companies operating in China, "in particular American companies, would bear the brunt." He said he was citing findings published by a foreign think tank, apparently referring to the extra costs
that American companies would face buying goods in China for the American market.
Last year, the United States’ deficit in trade in goods with China reached $347 billion, and Mr. Trump has promised to close
that gap, which he has also attributed to what he calls China’s rigged currency exchange policies.
In February, Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi spoke over the phone, and Mr. Trump reaffirmed established American policy
that Taiwan was a part of "one China." Administration officials have reined in warnings of possible military action in the South China Sea.
He also stressed that China would pay close attention to whether Mr. Trump’s administration stuck to the One China policy, which in effect
denies Taiwan the possibility of recognition as a separate country, something to which pro-independence groups in Taiwan aspire.
"This relationship is crucial for not just China and the United States,
but also for regional and global peace, security and stability, and we have to protect its progress," Mr. Li told hundreds of reporters at the end of the annual meeting of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress.
By CHRIS BUCKLEY and KEITH BRADSHERMARCH 15, 2017
BEIJING — China’s premier, Li Keqiang, defended his government on Wednesday as a bulwark of economic and regional stability, arguing
that smoldering tensions with the Trump administration over trade imbalances, North Korea and other disputes in Asia could be solved through dialogue.
