Survey: 60% China web users support current China trade policy
- Source: Global Times
- [17:47 October 30 2009]
- Comments
China and the US made a commitment to each other that they will not launch protectionism on each other Thursday; what the two sides will do next still needs to be seen. But a recent online survey conducted by huanqiu.com shows that 60 percent of Chinese web users support China's current trade policy and the way the country deals with trade frictions with the US recently.
The two countries made the commitment at the 20th China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province from Wednesday to Thursday. After the trade war on tires between China and the US began in September this year, a series of proven and unproven trade frictions between the two countries has shown the complexity of China-US trade relations.
According to the survey, as many as 10,712 Internet users or 78 percent of those surveyed believe that the trade friction between China and the US will extend into the future, and only 22 percent of people thought that the friction will not last much longer.
As for the question, "How do you think the Chinese government is coping with trade protectionism measures that the US launched against China?", 12,272 or 89.3 percent of web users answered "to strike back firmly", and 10.3 percent of those surveyed thought those frictions should be solved through negotiations; the remaining 0.4 percent want to just put those frictions aside.
In regards to comment on China's current trade policies and the way it deals with trade frictions with the US, 60.5 percent of those surveyed were satisfied with China's actions, and 39.5 percent insisted more can be done to improve the situation.
"In the recent trade war between China and the US, China really had a very good performance, and only when we strike back firmly at the US, they may consider more issues before they launch more protectionist measures," a web user commented.
On September 11, US President Barack Obama decided to impose punitive tariffs of up to 35 percent on all car and light truck tires imported from China despite of the strong opposition from the Chinese government. Following the tire case, two days later China's Ministry of Commerce announced anti-dumping and anti-subsidies investigations into some automobile and chicken products originally produced in the US. Then the US Commerce Department said it would investigate the possible dumping of Chinese steel pipes on October 7.
Gary Hufbauer, a trade expert from the Peterson Institute of International Economics commented that China has adopted a deterrence strategy to prevent the trade protectionism impulsion.
But on Thursday, the US Commerce Department announced a preliminary assessment of Chinese-made imported concrete steel wire strand and steel grating. And on the same day, the US Automotive Trade Policy Council chairman Steven Collins said he was informed by the Chinese government that it plans to carry out an investigation on potential dumping of US-made vehicles in the Chinese market.
