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Friday, May 17, 2019

China accuses the US of 'bullying behavior'

Chinese President Xi Jinping chats with President Donald Trump during a welcome ceremony in Beijing on Nov. 9, 2017.

AP Photo | Andy Wong

The United States bullied China during trade talks, a Chinese official said Thursday.

President Trump and the United States escalated trade talks with "bullying behavior" and were the reason why they fell apart, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a press conference, according to state-run Chinese news source Xinhua.

"The two sides had open and constructive communication during the 11th round of the China-U.S. high-level economic and trade consultations," spokesperson Gao Feng said."However, it is regrettable that the U.S. side unilaterally escalated trade disputes, which resulted in severe negotiating setbacks."

The U.S. and China have been involved in a trade dispute for over a year, but the trade war has heightened since the beginning of May. Last week, President Trump hiked tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and China retaliated with tariffs on $60 billion worth of imports.

Investors are bracing for potential new tariffs, as Trump has prepared to put additional levies on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods.

China will be forced to respond, Feng went on to say.

"China always believes that raising tariffs is not a solution to the trade frictions," said Feng, however, China will be forced to take necessary countermeasures, he said.

"We urge the U.S. side to correct wrongdoings as soon as possible to avoid causing heavier damages to businesses and consumers in both countries and dragging down the global economy," Gao said.

Earlier in the week the markets tanked on the trade news but the major indexes earned back their loses by Thursday's close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were set to open 150 points lower on Friday.

— Read the full Xinhua story here.

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