Buying More From the U.S. Won’t Hurt Other Nations, China Says

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The expansion of Chinese imports from the U.S. under the recently signed trade deal won’t affect demand for goods from other nations, a Chinese trade official told reporters on Tuesday.

China welcomes high quality, competitive American goods, but its purchases will be based on market demand and World Trade Organization principles, Ministry of Commerce trade official Li Xingqian said at a press conference in Beijing. China’s market is large, and continues to grow, Li said, adding that he hoped the U.S. would create favorable conditions for increasing exports to China.

The government promised to increase imports of American goods and services by $200 billion over the next two years, as part of the trade deal signed earlier this month in Washington. That has created concern that China would buy more from the U.S. and less from other nations, hurting the exports of nations such as Argentina, Brazil, Australia or the countries of the European Union.

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