China Expresses Growing Indignation with U.S. Wielding ‘Naked Economic Terrorism’

May 30 (EIRNS)—Exasperated over the ongoing conflict with the Trump Administration, Chinese officials are speaking out.

Addressing a press briefing in Beijing yesterday morning on President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia next week, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui said China opposed the use of “big sticks such as trade sanctions, tariffs and protectionism used by the United States.... We oppose a trade war, but are not afraid of a trade war. This kind of deliberately provoking trade disputes is naked economic terrorism, economic homicide, economic bullying,” Zhang said when asked about the trade war, Reuters reported.

Also, as the acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan headed for Beijing to hold talks with Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, China’s Defense Ministry spokesman Senior Col. Wu Qian charged today at the monthly press briefing that,

“The U.S. recently often played the Taiwan card, in a vain attempt to use Taiwan to contain China. This is purely wishful thinking.... The U.S. is playing with fire with its series of moves, which are seriously jeopardizing the development of relations between the two countries and the two militaries, as well as seriously endangering peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,”

Agence France-Presse quoted Colonel Wu as saying.

Moreover, as Bloomberg reported today, China has put purchase of soybeans from the United States on hold. Although China has not expressed any plan to cancel previous purchases of American soybeans, the state grain buyers have not received any further orders to continue with the so-called goodwill buying, and don’t expect that to happen given the lack of agreement in trade negotiations.