China attacks UK commercial treatment with the United States

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China has criticized a trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States that could be used to delete Chinese products from the British supply chains, complicating London’s efforts to reconstruct Beijing relationships.

It Trade offers the United States sealed with the United Kingdom Last week, which includes strict security requirements for the Steel Industries and the Pharmacist of Britain, the Trump administration was the first since announced “reciprocal rates” last month.

Asked about the agreement, Beijing said it was a “basic principle” that agreements between countries should not be addressed to other nations.

“The cooperation between the states should not be carried out against or to the detriment of the interests of third parties,” said China Foreign Ministry in Financial Times.

Comments place London in a difficult position between the two economic superpowers and could make it more difficult for the UK government Reset relationships with China.

Beijing has warned countries to sign trade agreements with the United States that they threaten Chinese interests, fearing that President Donald Trump will use bilateral negotiations with United States commercial partners to press them to cut China from supply chains.

China has also responded by Update efforts To purge components made abroad of their own supply chains, isolate them against the interruption of war trade.

Last week’s commercial agreement included U.S. punitive cuts in the exports of cars and steel in the United Kingdom, but was not eliminated A 10 percent reference line of rate on British goods.

The specific tariff of the sector for steel and cars was only granted to the condition that the United Kingdom “works to meet the American requirements” on the security of the supply chain and the “property of relevant production facilities”.

UK officials have said Trump has made it clear that China is the intended target of this condition. The agreement specifies a fare relief for British products would depend on so -called research in Section 232, which determine if and how they affect specific imports of the National Security of the United States.

London acceptance of Washington’s safety clauses caused Beijing surprise and concern, especially when the government of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Keir Starmer, had been working to improve ties to China, according to government -focused government directors.

“China will have to respond: The United Kingdom should not have rushed to accept the agreement,” said a Chinese government advisor, who requested not to be named.

Zhang Yansheng, a lead researcher at the Macroeconomic China Academy of Research, said Washington will force other governments to accept similar provisions in commercial negotiations. To isolate China.

“Because the United Kingdom does it, it’s not fair for China,” he said. “This type of poison pill clause is really worse than rates.”

Zhang said that China should “clearly raise the problem in conversations with the United Kingdom”, but should keep immediate retaliation.

“The underlying problem is the United States, other countries are secondary actors,” he added. “It must be discussed in commercial conversations with the United States.”

The United States and China on Monday agreed to a 90 -day truce In its trade war, Washington temporarily reducing the rates to Chinese imports to 40 percent, from 145 percent.

These taxes could be reducing up to 20 percentage points again if the two parties reach an agreement to stop the Fentanil precursor flow of Chinese producers in the United States. This would reduce the level of Trump’s rates in China to approximately those that are North -Americans like the United Kingdom.

China agreed on Monday to reduce its level of retaliation rates to North -American imports, such as energy products and farm goods from 125 % to 10 percent.

The United Kingdom government said that Britain had signed the United States trade agreement “to secure thousands of jobs through key sectors, protect British companies, and lay the foundations for greater trade in the future.”

He added that “trade and investment with China are still important for the United Kingdom” and that Britain “continued to involve pragmatically in areas rooted in the United Kingdom and world interests.”

Lucy Fisher’s additional reports in London