The relationship between China and the US remains shattered. The US government has branded China as a country that manipulates the currency’s currency and thus gains unfair advantage. Beijing, in turn, warned Washington on Tuesday ahead of the announced deployment of new medium-range missiles in Asia.
China will „take all necessary measures to defend national security interests with determination,“ said a spokeswoman for the Beijing Foreign Ministry.
One will never be inactive to protect one’s own interests and will not allow any country to cause problems in the „neighborhood,“ the spokeswoman said.
If the US takes this path, it will have a serious negative impact on the international and regional security situation, it said. However, there is hope that the US acted cautiously and took no action.
Washington: Stationing „ASAP“
Last week, the INF treaty on nuclear disarmament signed in 1987 by the USSR and the US had expired. In the negotiations for a new agreement with Russia, US President Donald Trump also wants to involve China, which now has nearly 2,000 ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
Beijing has denied talks so far. US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper spoke in favor of deploying medium-range land-based missiles in the Asia-Pacific region over the weekend. The US government wants to do it „as soon as possible,“ if possible within months, Esper said.
Trade conflict escalates
Meanwhile, the trade war between the two largest economies in the world is escalating. The US government has officially branded China as a country manipulating its currency to gain unfair advantage in international competition.
The US Treasury Department called on Monday evening (local time) Beijing to carry out all currency transactions in the future with greater transparency and fairness. Finance Minister Steven Mnuchin will initiate talks on the matter with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it said.
Response to new US punitive tariffs
China rejected the charge. The People’s Republic has and will not use its currency as a weapon in the trade dispute with the United States, the central bank said Tuesday.
Classifying the country as a currency manipulator is a serious violation of international rules. China devalued the renminbi on Monday and said Chinese companies would no longer import agricultural goods from the US.
Both were viewed as a reaction to Trump’s punitive tariffs last week. Trump had also warned that tariffs of ten percent on Chinese imports worth around $ 300 billion (€ 268 billion) could be increased at any time.
Chinese state media accused the US of deliberately destroying the international order. The big states are responsible for bringing stability to the world, according to a sharply worded Communist Party editorial on Tuesday. At the same time they would have to lay the foundations for the development of all countries. „But some people in the United States are doing exactly the opposite,“ it said.
Losses on the stock exchanges
The trade conflict led to major price falls on the financial markets on Monday. Wall Street had one of the worst trading days of the year by the afternoon. In Asia and Europe, the markets had previously given in as well.
China’s currency had lost significantly on Monday. One dollar has cost more than seven yuan for the first time since 2008. For a long time, this brand was regarded by experts as a supposedly „red line“ that the Chinese central bank would not exceed. The fact that she has allowed it now, caused fears that China could use the exchange rate as a weapon in the trade war with the United States. A lower dollar-to-dollar exchange rate lowers the price of Chinese products abroad. The Chinese currency’s price is not entirely free for market forces, but is controlled by China’s central bank
