BEIJING: US President Donald Trump decried his country’s “one-sided and unfair” trade deficit with Beijing on Thursday, but he told Chinese President Xi Jinping: “I don’t blame China.”
At a signing ceremony for over $250 billion (SR937.50 billion) in US-Chinese business deals in Beijing, Trump said: “After all, who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the sake of its citizens?“
However, he pointed the blame at past US administrations “for allowing this out-of-control trade deficit to take place and to grow.”
The Trump administration has aggressively pursued trade remedies in commercial relations with Beijing — investigating Chinese trade practices on intellectual property and in aluminum and steel.
Alleged Chinese misdeeds in commerce were a mainstay of Trump’s populist campaign for the White House but since taking office he has refrained from labeling Beijing a currency manipulator.
Xi has sought to cast himself as a champion of globalization as the US retreats behind Trump’s “America First” policy.
But US and European firms still complain about being barred from certain sectors and forced to share their technologies with local competitors to gain access in some industries.
Speaking after talks with his Chinese counterpart, Trump said that China has to take greater action on market access, forced technology transfers and theft of intellectual property.
“We have to fix this because it just doesn’t work, for our great American companies, and it doesn’t work for our great American workers,” he said.
Xi delivered a brief speech following Trump’s remarks, where he said China welcomed the international business community.
“To keep opening up is our long term strategy. We will not narrow or close our doors. We will open wider and wider,” Xi said.
“I will encourage Chinese businesses to do more investment in US and at the same time, invite more US companies to take part in One Belt One Road,” Xi added.
He was referring to China’s Silk Road project to revive ancient trade routes with a massive network of rail and maritime links.
Annually, the US runs a steep trade deficit in goods with China of about $350 billion.
Trump says US trade deficit with Beijing unfair, adds ‘I don’t blame China’
Trump says US trade deficit with Beijing unfair, adds ‘I don’t blame China’
QatarEnergy announces force majeure following Iran attacks: statement
DOHA: Qatar’s state-run energy firm on Wednesday declared force majeure following attacks on two of its main facilities that halted liquefied natural gas production and as Iran pressed missile and drone attacks across the Gulf.
“Further to the announcement by QatarEnergy to stop production of liquefied natural gas and associated products, QatarEnergy has declared Force Majeure to its affected buyers,” the company said in a statement.
QatarEnergy invoked the clause, which shields it from penalties and potential breach of contract claims from clients, after stopping LNG production on Monday.
Iranian drones attacked two of the company’s main production hubs in Ras Laffan Industrial City, 80 km north of Doha and in Mesaieed 40 km south of the Qatari capital, Doha’s ministry of defense said at the time.
The Gulf state is one of the world’s top liquefied natural gas producers, alongside the US, Australia and Russia.
On Tuesday, QatarEnergy said it would halt some downstream production of some products including urea, polymers, methanol, aluminum and others.
Qatar shares the world’s largest natural gas reservoir with Iran.
QatarEnergy estimates the Gulf state’s portion of the reservoir, the North Field, holds about 10 percent of the world’s known natural gas reserves.
In recent years, Qatar has inked a series of long-term LNG deals with France’s Total, Britain’s Shell, India’s Petronet, China’s Sinopec and Italy’s Eni, among others.
