US-Vietnam trade deal: China to protect its rights and interests

BEIJING: China is assessing the trade between the United States and Vietnam, and will safeguard its own rights and interests if needed, a spokesperson for China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday, according to Reuters.

At the same time, the ministry spokesperson, He Yongqian, said at a regular press briefing that China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of Chinese interests.

On the other hand, Mao Ning, who is the foreign minister spokesperson, also talked about China’s interests.

“China believes in equal-footed dialogue and consultation as the way to address economic and trade disputes,” she noted.

However, she also made it clear that how any two countries should reach to an arrangement. “That said, relevant negotiations and agreements should not target or harm the interests of any third party.”

Mao was answering a question asked by a Bloomberg reporter about the effects of US-Vietnam trade deal on China.

DEAL OR PROVOCATION?

The deal announced Wednesday is the first full pact Trump has sealed with an Asian nation, and analysts say it may give a glimpse of the template Washington will use with other countries still scrambling for accords, reports AFP.

The 46 per cent rate due to take effect next week has been averted, with Vietnam set to face a minimum 20 per cent tariff in return for opening its market to US products including cars.

But a 40 per cent tariff will hit goods passing through the country to circumvent steeper trade barriers – a practice called “transshipping”.

Washington has accused Hanoi of relabelling Chinese goods to skirt its tariffs, but raw materials from the world’s number two economy are the lifeblood of Vietnam’s manufacturing industries.

“From a global perspective, perhaps the most interesting point is that this deal again seems in large part to be about China,” said Capital Economics.

It said the terms on transshipment “will be seen as a provocation in Beijing, particularly if similar conditions are included in any other deals agreed over coming days”.