American business group warns against US trade conflict with China

The American Chamber of Commerce in China said Wednesday that Beijing would likely respond if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump imposes restrictions on trade or investment between the two countries.

“China is not without an arsenal to respond to actions the U.S. may or may not take,’’ Lester Ross, a chamber board member, in Beijing, said.

Ross told newsmen that China already has initiated some measures, such as imposing higher anti-dumping duties on American agricultural chemicals.

“Authorities could also begin new anti-dumping investigations in the future, which would impact the amount of U.S. imports into China too,’’ he added.

Chinese President, Xi Jinping, in a speech in the Swiss town of Davos on Tuesday, warned that a “trade war” would harm all countries involved.

“The message we want to bring forth to Washington is to be realistic.

“If you’re fighting against government policy in China saying they devalued Chinese currency to give Chinese exports an advantage, that actually hasn’t been the case in recent years,’’ Ross said.

U.S. president-elect Trump has in the past promised to raise import duties on Chinese-made goods and has also declared China a currency manipulator.