BEIJING: China urged the US government on Thursday to act “prudently” to avoid damaging economic relations between the two countries, in a strongly worded response to Washington’s preliminary decision to slap anti-dumping duties on Chinese aluminum foil.
In a statement posted on its Wechat account, the Ministry of Commerce said the United States had ignored offers of cooperation from the government and Chinese companies in making its ruling this week.
The statement, attributed to Wang Hejun, head of the Commerce Ministry’s trade remedy and investigation bureau, was more strongly worded than typical responses to trade disputes with the United States.
The statement said there were no grounds to accuse China’s downstream aluminum companies of benefiting from subsidies.
Washington has previously made similar claims about China’s banking sector, unreasonably labelling Chinese commercial banks as public institutions, the statement also said.
The Wechat post followed news on Wednesday that China’s top foil producers are preparing to launch a legal challenge to a US Commerce Department ruling that would slap antidumping duties of 16.56 percent to 80.97 percent on Chinese aluminum foil imports.
China’s government said it is highly concerned about the action the United States is taking to provide relief to its aluminum industry.
Washington is also investigating whether to curb aluminum imports from China under the rarely used Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows restrictions on imports for reasons of national security.
US President Donald Trump’s administration is conducting a separate investigation into steel imports from China.
China urges US to act ‘prudently’ in aluminum foil dispute
China urges US to act ‘prudently’ in aluminum foil dispute
Romanian president to attend Washington ‘Board of Peace’ meeting as observer
- The board is set to have its first meeting on February 19 in Washington
- Its permanent members must pay $1 billion to join
BUCHAREST: Romanian President Nicusor Dan announced on Sunday that he would attend as observer the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace.”
“Next week I will take part in the first meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, responding to the invitation addressed by the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump,” Dan wrote on X, after having recently said that his country was still considering whether to join the body, of which Trump is the chairman.
The board, originally intended to oversee the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip after two years of the Israel-Hamas war, is set to have its first meeting on February 19 in Washington.
Its permanent members must pay $1 billion to join, which lead to criticisms that the board could become a “pay-to-play” version of the UN Security Council.
“Romania will have observer status and I will reaffirm our strong support for international peace efforts and our willingness to participate in the reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip,” Dan added on X on Sunday.
Earlier this week, the Romanian president told reporters that Romania is interested in taking part in the Washington talks as the country “has traditional relations with both Israel and the Arab countries in the region,” adding that “the situation in Gaza is important for Europe.”
Since Trump launched his “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, at least 19 countries have signed its founding charter.
Some countries, including Croatia, France, Italy, New Zealand and Norway, have declined to join, while others like Romania have said they could only consider doing so if its charter were changed.
