CRI听力:The Sino-American Trade Tension Escalates

The U.S. started 24 trade remedy cases against Chinese export items in the first two weeks of the month.

Rather than bringing any economic benefits, experts say the cases are politically driven and will be harmful to both sides in the long run.

CRI's Zhang Cheng takes a closer look.

Tu Xinquan is Deputy Director of the China National Institute of the World Trade Organization.

He says the trade conflicts between China and the United States are a long-tem issue, while remedial measures such as anti-dumping and countervailing moves can have little effect in regard to the trade imbalance.

The official says the growing number of trade remedy cases filed by the U.S. are more politically driven ahead of next week's mid-term congressional elections.

"The Obama government is facing low domestic support, and the Democratic Party is facing great pressure in the forthcoming elections. Plus with the continuous high unemployment rate, the U.S. government is trying to play hard in foreign policy and win more domestic support."

Tu Xinquan says the trade tension is also a continuation of the debate over the appreciation of Chinese yuan, despite the central parity rate of the yuan rising to a new high last month.

"Although the Chinese yuan has recently undergone a significant appreciation, it was not satisfying for the U.S. government which wants to use these trade restrictions to further push China on the appreciation of yuan."

He points out that neither the yuan's exchange rate nor trade remedy measures can actually fuel American economic growth.

Stephen Joske, Director of the China Forecasting Service at the Economist Intelligence Unit, agrees.

"The exchange rate really has little effect on employment in the U.S., but is just a politically convenient thing to talk about."

Joske predicts that the number of trade conflicts between the United States and China may decrease after the U.S. midterm elections. But the final solution lies in the domestic economic growth of the both countries.

He says both countries should be cautious about causing a full-scale trade war that would damage both economies.

"The U.S. relies on China for low cost imports, and China needs the rest of the world for things like oil and iron and ore. And they can't really, neither side, can really afford to disrupt the global trading system."

Tu Xinquan from the WTO's China National Institute says at the recently concluded G-20 meeting in South Korea, finance ministers and central bankers agreed to avoid potentially debilitating currency devaluations and reduce trade and current account imbalances. But, he says specific regulations and targets remain a challenge for the forthcoming G20 summit next month.

For CRI, this is Zhang Cheng.